Second Kind of Sight
by SpyralHax
Summary: Toph gets bored one day, and decides to play a prank on the new member of the group, Prince Zuko. Unforeseen complications arise, and the two end up getting closer. Toko.
1. Chapter 1

**Second Sight: Chapter 01**

**Rating: K**

**Pairing: Toko**

**Ah, here is my first chapter of my first Toko fanfic. This one will probably not be very long, probably only five chapters or so, but I hope it comes out alright. Thoughts on how to improve it are always welcome, as usual. This one is set right after 'Fire Bending Masters', so Katara is still acting very b****y to Zuko. Toph gets bored, and decides to involve the newest person in the group in her antics. Bad results naturally occur. Toph is a harder character to get down than the other gals from the series, so tell me if I messed her up too much. That said, enjoy, Toko fans.

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Aimlessly turning her head about the small clearing, Toph felt for where the various members of their little group were scattered. Katara was off procuring some water for cleaning and cooking, the domestic type of things that she got so much joy out of. It was something that Toph was both envious of and completely mystified by. Why would anyone enjoy cleaning so much, or cooking for someone sporting a bottomless pit of a stomach, like Sokka.

Aang, in his usual manner, was keeping a short distance between himself and Katara, trying his best to make the object of his affections notice him as something more than what they were at that moment. Even from such a long distance away, she could practically _feel_ the boy's affections, and it made her want to gag.

The blind girl's ears pricked a bit as she felt for Sokka, much closer to the edge of her range than the others. They had fruitlessly hunted for something meat-like to eat over the few days they had been there, to no avail. But Sokka, ever the meat lover, was not one to give up, and was still at it close to a week later.

She wondered how anyone could be so single mindedly focused on something, to the point of it being a near obsession. Her brows knit together as she felt around for the newest member of their little group, the moody ex-Prince of the Fire Nation.

"Hey, where's Princess?" Toph asked loudly, feeling Katara's body tense at the mention of the fire bender. She fought to hold back a smirk at the feeling, knowing that even having the boy around irritated the water bender to no end.

"He's probably doing his breathing exercises," Aang yelled, emerging from behind the fountain a short distance behind Katara. The dark skinned girl seemed to almost fume, her seething dislike for the Prince apparent even to the blind girl.

"Maybe he got lost and wandered off a cliff or something. He was never the brightest light in the sky," the older girl sneered, pricks of fear echoing on the back of the neck of Aand and his earth bending teacher. Katara seemed oddly amused by the notion of Prince Zuko wandering off a cliff, and each of the younger kids got the distinct impression that she would have been more than happy if that had been the result.

Toph felt particularly confused by the older girl's attitude, despite only knowing Zuko for a few days. It wasn't like Katara to hold a grudge for no reason, so she assumed logically that there was something in particular between the two that was causing the distrust and dislike. Well, the one-sided dislike, anyway. Zuko, for his part, was clearly trying to be civil and kind to everyone in the group.

She would have to get some answers to what happened one day. But as she felt the young warrior wander back from his failed hunting trip, Toph felt something she had come to know quite intimately during her years locked up in her parents' home. Boredom. Sure, she could just play some prank on the others in the group, but they had all gotten to know one another, and she wondered if her jokes would work on any of them.

Not to mention, she had gotten close to each of them, for various reasons. Aang was, ostensibly, her earth bending pupil, and so was in regular contact with him. He knew her almost inside and out, something she wasn't sure she was comfortable with. It made it harder to play jokes on him involving earth bending, as he seemed to hold a natural talent for all things bending. Show-off.

Sokka was too easy, a sucker through and through, she liked to jab at him occasionally, usually in reference to her blindness, but generally found the lack of a challenge in regards to the only non-bender in the group to be boring in itself.

Katara and her shared a sometimes adversarial relationship, sometimes more like bitter enemies, or two girls fighting over the same guy. Though, she cringed at the notion that she liked Aang. It wasn't that he was a bad guy, or anything like that. She figured that was part of the reason she wasn't into him. She didn't want nice. She didn't want some guy drooling all over her, trying to protect her from everything in the world.

And just for a moment, that line of thinking brought her to the potential next target for her unique brand of "affection". She hadn't known Zuko long, but just from the minor interactions they had shared, she had a feeling that if she did something to him, he would probably do something in return, something she looked forward to.

Not bothering to make any excuse, Toph dropped from her perch at the fountain's edge, letting her feet pound softly on the carved stone as she made her way through the oddly comfortable temple. It was strange to her how at home she, as an earth bender, could feel in a temple supposedly designed for air benders.

With each step through the wide corridors, she let the feel of the immense structure fill her unusual brand of "sight", taking in each crack, each line of carved stone, each sculpture that dotted the walls. Finally, after only a minute or two of walking, she found the room she was searching for. Concentrating for a moment, she felt the young man doing a few simple movements in his room, away from the eyes of the rest of the group.

He was, she figured, quite a private person, either not wanting to risk doing something to draw Katara's ire, or just more comfortable doing things on his own. Toph smiled as she remembered for a moment her conversation with his uncle Iroh, and how two related people could be so different. But her minty green eyes narrowed a bit in something akin to disappointment.

Zuko seemed to be the type to take in all his surroundings, difficult to get the drop on, something that Sokka really needed to work on if he was going to be an accomplished warrior. She wondered to herself, if Zuko and Sokka sparred, who would win. But he seemed to either not notice her, or take no caution in her presence. So, she leaned against the outside of his doorframe, the heavy wooden door closed on its hinges.

She felt as he settled in the center of the room, his steady breaths sounding not unpleasantly on her ears as he cooled down. Shuffling towards his mattress, he pulled something out of his small pack, placing the items against the opposite wall. Toph wondered what he was doing, what his breathing exercise entailed.

The soft puttering of a newly lit flame sounded through her slightly heightened hearing, a sound repeated once, twice, five times. Suddenly she wished she could see, or at least have someone explain to her what it was that he was doing.

Contrary to her nature, which would usually prompt her to do something, to be up and about, Toph waited. She "watched" as he set himself down in the center of the room, cross-legged, a single deep breath calming him down completely. She listened as the movement of cloth dissipated, replaced with the rhythmic breathing that indicated meditation.

One might wonder what Zuko could gain from meditation, his personality so much more fiery and volatile than Aang's. It seemed that he was not the type to be sitting there breathing, and yet here he was. Yet, knowing it did not make it any easier to understand or accept.

After a few minutes, her boredom returned full force, and Toph tried to think of something she could do to irritate the focused fire bender, something to get him to explode, and maybe cause a hilarious argument between him and Katara. Their opposing elements seemed to make them natural enemies, something Toph made sure to note for ant future bouts of boredom. God help her if they ever decided to get along.

Sensing that Zuko was focused on whatever it was that he was doing, Toph decided to break up her boredom, and involve Zuko at the same time. A loose flick of her wrist, and she loosened the ground beneath the young man, a playful smirk crossing her lips as she felt the ground begin to give way.

"What the hell…?!" Zuko shouted, his voice nearly drowning out the sound of increasing sized flames. She felt his heartbeat quicken as he fell a bit forward, barley stifling a chuckle at his expense. Served him right for getting so involved.

But her giggle died down as she felt his heart rate increase, instead of decreasing. Figuring that maybe something was wrong, she entered the room, letting the heavy door bang against the inside of the wall as it flung open.

"Hey, what is your problem?" she asked directly, feeling his body turn towards her, something distinctly resembling anger and fear causing his body to tremble. She could tell that his hand was waving directly in front of his face, slowly but surely, and she wondered what that could mean.

"Oh, god, Toph, you just surprised me," he said, his heartbeat telling a completely different story than his lips. His voice trembled a bit in what she could only call fear, as he slowly got up from his sitting position in the center of the room. Toph's ears perked up a bit as she listened to the soft rustle of cloth as he stood, his movements a bit more uncertain and slow than usual.

"It's no problem," she said somewhat hesitantly, feeling the uncertain footsteps as he made his way towards the direction of the door. It seemed strange to her that his usual confidence could disappear just like that, and he was almost moving like he was…

Frosted green eyes flashed open as a twinge of guilt rang in her chest. There was no way that could be the case… could it? But there was only one way to check. Before he could make his way to the opened door, Toph brought up a small lump of earth in front of the young man, something that he would usually notice and either step right over or sidestep. But her fears were realized as he stumbled, his face planting against the inside of the wall opposite the door.

"Oww!" he yelled, stumbling back onto his backside, hand rubbing his now sore face. Toph swallowed hard on the lump in her throat, backing hesitantly away from the no doubt angry fire bender.

"I'm uh, sorry," she mumbled, knowing now what was wrong with him. She wasn't sure how it had happened, but now she had no doubt. "I'm sure Katara can do something about it," she reasoned, knowing how hard it could be to deal with what he was going through.

"I'm sure it's just temporary," he said, trying his best to be reassuring to the younger girl. Placing his hand against the cool stone, he gave her a small smile, patting along the wall as he slipped out of the room, wincing in pain as he banged into one of the walls of the small corridor.

Toph planted herself on his mattress, banging her head against the hard stone of the wall nearest her. How could she have done something so stupid? She truly hoped that Katara would be able to heal his condition. But could water bending heal blindness?

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**Well, that was the first chapter. Thoughts welcome, as I said before. Toph is one of the harder characters to get down in the series, so I was worried about starting this one. The next few chapter will, hopefully, be better, and focus on the Toko interactions. Next update will be for my Jinko story, as I settle into a pattern of Jinko - Zuki (Zuko x Suki) - Toko. Until next time, good readers.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Guilt**

**Rating: K**

**Ah, after a surprisingly long delay, here is the second chapter of this story. Thoughts on people being OOC here is always appreciated. Shorter than usual chapters, but hopefully the next one turns out better. Enjoy the short chapter.

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"Hahaha," Katara's laughter echoed in the ears of the assembled group, her face contorted in amusement as she laughed at the older boy's condition. The rest of the group looked uneasily from the amused water bender to the irritated fire bender, watching as his brows furrowed in anger towards the young girl.

"Oh, no, don't be so sensitive on my account," Zuko muttered darkly, his hands tensing at his sides as he listened to the intense laughter. Small chuckles continued to escape her lips as she turned her amused expression towards the scarred teen.

"I'm _sorry_, but it's just kind of funny," she said, the apology clearly not intended to be taken as such by the boy. His brows knit together further, as the rest of the group looked on in concern. A distinctly unpleasant atmosphere filled the small clearing, and the other kids thought that it might have come to blows if things kept up.

"Alright, alright. It is funny that Zuko is suddenly blind, but that means there's a big problem," Sokka said, trying to calm things down as best he could. Aang nodded weakly, a feeling that he knew what Sokka was getting at scratching at his mind.

"Yeah, that we have a dangerous fire bender on the loose who can't see where he's going, so he might accidentally light something on fire," Katara teased, smirking as Zuko's jaw clenched tightly shut.

"Well, yeah, that is a problem. But that's not what I meant," Sokka said, stroking his chin as that thought had not occurred to him. Slowly he turned his attention to Aang, nodding in agreement as the same thought passed through their minds.

"I won't be able to teach Aang how to fire bend if I can't see what I'm doing," Zuko said grimly, drawing the attention of the rest of the group towards him. With a heavy sigh, he tilted his head downward, visionless gold eyes aimed at the ground between his feet. Clasping his hands together, the young man wrung the slender digits, his mind screaming that it wasn't fair.

After all he had been through, from the time he had spoken out at the war meeting to his hunt for the Avatar, to now have this added on top of it just as he found his true path was almost too much for him to handle.

All tension left his body, his hands loosening as an accepting look crossed his face. Pulling himself to his feet, Zuko turned towards where he hoped the temple interior was, a light flush staining his cheeks as he walked into a tall post.

From what the others in the group had heard, Zuko had been a formidable enemy, so to see him in such a state was almost pitiable. The young man didn't bother cursing as he bumped into something else, his hands feeling in front of him for any sign of hardened surface that might cause him injury.

"This is almost painful to watch," Sokka mumbled as he turned his head away, the amusement wearing off as the older boy continued to fumble around. Aang nodded in agreement, eyeing Katara out of the corner of his vision. A light shiver passed up his spine as he caught the amused grin on the girl's face. He never knew Katara could be so vindictive, and he found that it frightened him a bit.

"Ugh, this is too painful," Toph shouted after Zuko fumbled at the edge of the small square fountain, barely stopping himself from falling into the icy water. The others in the group might have thought that her voice sounded almost guilty, if they hadn't known her as well as they had gotten to.

They watched in surprise as the girl took Zuko's hand, leading him towards the temple and some sanctuary for his condition. Each looked to one another, surprise clear in each of their faces at the sight.

"Well, I'll be. I didn't know she could actually be nice," Sokka said, his right brow quirking up a bit as he watched the girl lead the taller boy through the entrance. The assembled group of teens smiled a bit, the irony of a blind girl leading someone around too much to hold off slight grins.

The "secretive" whispers of the group began to fade on the girl's ears, her mind racked with a surprising amount of guilt over the situation. Tilting her head a bit towards the young man, she could almost feel the conflict and sadness over the situation through his pulse.

"Look, I'm really sorry about this, you know?" she said, the words coming through her lips almost mechanically, apologies not being something she was used to giving. No sound of acknowledgement from the taller boy reached her ears, only the forced shuffling of his feet against the carved stone floor.

Uncomfortable silence passed between them as the girl led him towards his room, Zuko's mind still dealing with the fact that he was blind while Toph's mind continued to tug at her heart with guilt. Her pranks had always had some element of danger to them, but nobody had ever really gotten hurt as a result.

"I know it's not really your fault. I should have been paying more attention, so it's my own fault," he said finally, his voice low and weak, lacking any of the confidence she seemed to associate with the young man. His tone brought a mixed feeling from the girl, anger that he was just being so depressed with sadness at having seemingly taken something so precious from him.

"Well, if I had known that you were doing something like that-'

"-you would have done it anyway," Zuko finished for her, a small smile gracing his lips as they stopped in front of his door. Turning towards the boy, Toph smiled a bit as well, feeling an ever so slight pick up in his mood. She knew that even in hindsight, she probably would have done it regardless.

"Yeah, probably," she agreed, rubbing the back of her head as she prodded at the carved stone with her toes. The raven haired girl watched as Zuko fumbled about the door, looking for the handle to gain entry to the small room.

"Thanks for helping me out," Zuko said sadly as his fingers grasped the handle to the door, turning it before pushing on the rectangular piece of wood. Taking a step into the room, he stopped, turning his head towards where he guessed Toph was standing. Giving the girl a sad smile, he nodded in appreciation before slipping into the room.

Feeling his movements inside the room, Toph winced a bit as he bumped loudly into the edge of his bed, his hands rubbing at the now sore spot on his shin. Leaning against a nearby wall, Toph dropped to a sitting position, resting her head on her now upraised knees. Sightless green eyes closed against the unaffecting light around her, trying to drown out the thoughts running in her head.

The girl let her mind work through the problem at hand, the task proving difficult. She had never been able to see, so had no idea what it might be like to be unable to take in colors and sights all of a sudden. She remembered when Zuko had burned her feet, how miserable it had been to be unable to see in that way, and figured that what he was going through would be that much worse.

She really had to think of a way to help him out.

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**Ah, this somehow doesn't feel satisfactory given how long it was between chapters. Guess I just have to try better for next time. I am going to try and update this story every day until it is finished, hopefully by this Sunday. Next time Toph implements her plan to help Zuko out, and there is definite Toko fluff to come in the next chapter or so. Hope to see you all here next time, good readers.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Awkwardness**

**Rating: K+**

**Chapter 3 of my Toko story for your enjoyment. Getting a little bit more comfortable with the pairing, so the next few chapters will probably be longer and more in depth. This time Zuko wakes after his first night with his new condition. Thoughts always welcome. Enjoy.

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As the Sun rose into the morning sky, Zuko felt the familiar flow of energy through his body, eyelids opening slowly through habit. His eyelids opened and closed, his mind and body working together to force him from his bed. Pulling into a sitting position, the young man stretched his arms above his head, a content smile crossing his face.

The contentment faded as a momentary shock passed through his mind, the darkness of sleep not giving way to the brightness of the day as it usually did. His mind raced, part of him thinking that he was still asleep.

Bright yellow eyes narrowed as the recollection of the previous day's events hit him all at once, remembering that he had somehow been blinded. Despite the flood of energy through his body, the young man fell back into the bed, eyes staring blankly up towards the ceiling, and the sky beyond it.

Pulling his hand in front of his face, he waved it back and forth, feeling the motion in his arm despite not being able to see it. A light breeze blew against his face from the motion, eyes closing as he set his arm to his side. The Sun's energy beckoned him, almost beckoning him to get up and about, but his mind kept him planted in bed.

He let his mind drift, the thoughts prodding and jabbing at him, much as he figured Azula might do. Sucking in a deep breath, his eyes closed, his chest expanding as he held the air in his lungs. After holding it for a moment, the young man let the gathered air escape at once, eyes slowly opening as the last traces escaped his lungs.

"Guess I can't just stay in bed all day," he said to nobody in particular. Twisting his body at the waist, he swung his legs over the edge of the bed, the soles of his feet hitting the cool stone beneath him gently. Pushing down on his knees, the young man brought himself to his feet.

Aimlessly turning his head around the room, he tried with as much effort as he could muster to see the few items around the room, silently cursing as only blackness seemed to permeate his being. His body slackened as the darkness continued to tease him, his mind filled with memories of a world of light that he may never be able to see again.

Remembering where the door was, the scarred teen slid his feet along the floor, carefully trying to avoid bumping into anything so early in the day. Carved, worn stone rubbed against the calloused skin on the soles of his feet, a small friction sending a bit of heat through his legs.

"How the hell does she do it all the time?" he asked, his question seemingly pointed to the cosmos all around. He had never thought much of it when he had first seen her, aside from a basic curiosity. But as he felt the uncomfortable warmth in his feet, he wondered how calloused the younger girl's feet must be, to have walked along warmed streets and burning sand of the desert.

After a short yet slow walk across his room, he found himself face to face with the door, his hand sliding along the center line of the large piece of wood as he sought the handle. His brows knit together as he closed his eyes, a strange sensation passing through his fingertips.

The wood beneath his touch felt worn, a bit rough on the surface. It was not a harsh roughness like sandpaper, but slightly less noticeable, like the rough tongue of a common house pet. Shaking his head slightly, he shook the thought off, grasping the cool metal of the handle as he pulled on the door.

Taking a step back, he listened to the subtle creaking of the hinges, wondering when was the last time the door had been oiled or properly maintained at all. That thought sent a surge of guilt through him, images of a brutal attack flashing through his mind. His jaw clenched a bit before the images faded, leaving him once more in darkness.

Stopping just outside his door, Zuko tried to think about where he wanted to go. He shuddered a bit as he thought of another day dealing with the jabs and jokes from Katara and her brother, one in good fun while the other seemed to genuinely enjoy the sight of him fumbling around like a newborn baby.

Figuring he could put off dealing with the Avatar's group, he turned towards the opposing end of the hall, figuring he may as well find a more isolated room, where he could think about things without being interrupted. As he slid his hand along the left side of the hall, his brows knit together again as the coolness gave way to a slight increase in warmth.

He wondered for a moment if maybe it was just the Sunlight warming the stone, accepting that explanation as logical enough. A soft sound like a blowing breeze reached his ears, only a short distance from his door. But he heard something else on top of the gentle blowing of air, something that sounded like… snoring?

Before he could bring himself to a stop, he felt a small figure at his feet, a screech of surprise grating on his ears as he fell to the ground. A thud could be heard in the narrow corridor, as Zuko pushed his hands out instinctively to break his fall. As his heart rate slowed to somewhat normal conditions, he wondered what he had tripped over in his clumsiness.

Expecting the cool feel of stone on his palms, the young man's mind swam as a distinctly warm sensation greeted the sensitive skin. Flexing his fingers a bit, he felt cloth atop the soft warmth. The fabric brushed against his fingers, his mind holding the answer to what he was grasping right at the forefront.

"Unngh, you should watch where you're-" his eyes widened in shock and abject terror, Toph's voice stopping mid sentence. He felt a gentle rhythm beneath his fingers, the beating of the girl's heart. The scarred teen gulped loudly, realizing where his hands had landed while trying to break his fall.

"Oh, uh, Toph, it's um, not what you think," he excused, wincing as he felt the girl's body shift beneath him. The warm sensation of her body was replaced with a searing agony on his chest, a large rock being slammed right into his body. Hardened earth crashed against his body, sending him tumbling back off of the girl.

Groans of agony passed through his lips, his body doubling over as he clutched at the now sore spot in the center of his chest. A light gasp sounded from the other party involved, and for a moment he thought that more punishment might be coming his way. Not knowing what else to do, he scooted a bit further away, shoving his hands in front of his body defensively.

"Look, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. I was just walking and tripped and tried to break my fall and then you were there and I was surprised," he began, the words flowing quickly as he fumbled for an adequate explanation.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. Sorry for beating you up when you're already suffering, but it's your own fault for not watching where you're going," Toph said, her voice almost as calloused and indifferent as usual. He heard the soft rustle of her green pants as she made her way towards him, the grating of her calloused feet against the cool stone floor brushing on his ears.

As the girl dusted herself off, he felt a surge of earth beneath him, the stone of the floor contorting as it pushed him to his feet. Stumbling a bit, he tried to keep his balance, finding it oddly difficult without seeing where he was going.

"So, I assume you were going to breakfast?" she asked, taking hold of his hand as she began to lead him towards the clearing that doubled as the dining area for the group of teenagers. He pulled back against her grip, causing the shorter girl to stop as she turned back towards him.

"No, I'm not feeling really hungry," he said, hoping his voice didn't sound as mopey to her as it did to his own ears. A light growling of a stomach echoed through the corridor, breaking the momentary silence between the two.

"Well, it must be nice for you, but I'm starving," Toph said, tugging on his arm once again as she headed towards the fountain square. His mind playing back the sound of Katara's biting laughter, Zuko pulled his arm from the shorter girl's grasp, her feet fumbling a bit before rooting herself.

"I told you I'm not hungry," he said, his voice lower and more uncertain than she had heard it in his brief time with their group. She felt his footsteps as he turned away from her, his hands brushing against the gray stone as he walked down the empty corridor, off towards the interior of the large temple.

She stood there or a moment, her stomach arguing with her curiosity and guilt, knowing that Zuko was feeling particularly upset about the change in circumstances. As he turned to the right at the end of the hall, the girl sighed deeply, her feet moving almost on their own as she headed towards where he was heading.

"So much for breakfast," she muttered carefully, blowing a stray black bang out of her face as she walked down the cooled corridor.

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**Ah, I wasn't sure about writing this one this way, but it came out as you read it. Next time the two really sit down and start connecting, joined by a now common condition. Not sure if I will be able to limit this story to the originally intended 5 chapters, since I am getting more comfortable with the pairing. Hopefully future chapters are to the readers' liking. Until next time, good readers.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Darkness**

**Rating: K**

**Chapter 4 for your reading enjoyment. Basically just a bit more Zuko dealing with his new condition, but with some Toko interactions this time. Just getting into the rhythm with this pairing, so let me know how it came out. Enjoy the chapter.

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As his feet scraped against the carved stone of the temple floor, Zuko let his toes brush against the pronounced lines separating the individual stone slabs. Each shuffle of his feet brought a new pain, the toes of his feet stubbing along the cracks. _'Wish I had thought to put my shoes on at times like this,'_ he lamented to himself, forcing his hands slowly along the wall.

Every so often his fingers would come against a crack, the tips digging into the space between sections of wall as he walked. He tried to picture what the walls might look like, stopping to let his fingers linger against one of the larger cracks. Facing the wall, he ran the digits up and down, feeling the separate roughness of the inside of the crack compared to the relatively smooth surface of the wall itself.

On the inside of the wall, he could feel a light dampness, a small trickle of water seeping into the old stone. He tried to place one of the murals onto the surface, tried to get his mind to relate some information of its appearance through his sense of touch. His jaw clenched tightly, the only sensation entering his mind a rough warmth as a small flame began to spew from his fingertips.

Taking a deep breath, he forced the flame to subside, pulling his fingers from the pronounced break in the stone wall. Rubbing his fingers together, he turned his head to the ceiling, wondering how he could possibly deal with this blindness for the rest of his life.

Pushing himself forward, he ran his hands smoothly along the wall, the digits of his fingers continuing to rise and fall as they brushed against small cracks. He could almost, almost see the images of the bald monks, and the animals from whom they had learned control of their element lining the walls. The dimmed inks and slight carvings fluttered through the darkness in his mind, almost like they were taunting him.

Reaching the end of one of the hallways, Zuko groaned to himself, figuring that he had walked right into a dead end. _'Good thing nobody's here to see this,'_ he said to himself, sighing heavily as he turned towards the direction he had come from. Tilting himself back, Zuko leaned against the hardened surface, his back brushing against the flat face of the wall as he slid into a sitting position.

Pulling his knees up towards his chest, the scarred teen rested his forearms on the upturned joints, hands hanging down against his shins. Focusing on the soft intake and exhaling of his breath, he lifted his sightless gaze to the ceiling again, wondering what the hallway he was in might look like.

All around him he felt a mild coldness. Not the biting coldness of the North Pole, but more the stinging coldness that accompanied loneliness. Gentle dampness filled the air, the small particles of moisture finding their way into his lungs as he breathed, giving the life giving element a more crisp taste.

Dropping his gaze towards the ground, the young man lifted his hand slightly, his palm facing up towards his face. A flicker of flame burst onto his palm, a small sphere dancing with each exhaled breath. His skin felt the warmth, nostrils smelled the burning of the air around the sphere, but his eyes could not see the reddish orange glow.

Zuko allowed the flame to dance in his palm, increasing the size of it with each breath he took. Finally the small orb encompassed his entire hand, the warm glow beginning to strain under his forced control. He could feel it trying to break free of his flow of energy, to find its own fuel to burn unchecked.

Clenching his fingers, he snuffed the flame, a small sputter reaching his ears as the flame disappeared as easily as it had appeared. Throwing his head backwards, he smacked his head almost painfully against the stone wall, wishing that he had been paying more attention to what he had been doing.

Dropping his forehead down, he rested it against his knees, his golden eyes closing to the darkness around him. His eyed grudgingly opened as he felt a rumbling in his stomach, his body seemingly rebelling against his desire to be alone for the day. A loud groan escaped his lips as he tried to force his head tighter against his knees.

His hands subconsciously began to heat against his legs, the warmth easily seeping through the usually comfortable fabric of his pants. Eyes widened as he pulled his hands away, the smell of freshly burned fabric wafting up to his nostrils.

"God, now I'm burning myself," he complained, his entire body tensing with the frustration of the situation at hand. At the opposing end of the narrow hall, a chuckle and a light shuffling of fabric alerted him to the presence of another person. His mind groaned in agony, jabbing at his already shattered confidence.

"Toph, you might as well say what you came to say," he said, hearing the chuckle nearly freeze as he spoke. Even from his position so far away, he could almost imagine her debating with herself whether or not to reveal herself, or just run away and feign ignorance about the matter later.

"How did you know it was me?" she asked, choosing the former in that situation. Zuko sighed carefully, letting his right leg stretch out in front of him as he placed both hands atop his still upturned left knee.

"Because you've been following me all morning," he answered, his brows knitting together as the thought found words past his lips. The soft padding of feet against smooth stone brushed against his ears, the sensory organs tweaking as she made her way towards him.

"But, how did you know it was me?" she asked, dropping to a sitting position to his left, her feet stretching out in front of her. Zuko listened to the soft rustling of her distinctive clothing, picturing the short limbs stretching out from her body.

"I don't know. I just sort of guessed," he said, shrugging as though the explanation had not been truly necessary. The scarred teen could almost hear the girl's eyes rolling in her head, her dirty black hair brushing against the stone behind her as she turned her sightless gaze on him.

"Well, that's some fancy guessing then," she teased, her hands rubbing against the ground at her sides, fully taking in the cool touch of the stone. She also made sure to pay attention to Zuko's heartbeats, feeling the vibrations of his irritation even through the hardened surface beneath them.

"I guess so. So, is there something you wanted?" he asked dryly, his voice more bitter than he figured it should have sounded.

"Just figured you could use some company, so you don't do something stupid," she responded, her voice just barely showing the effect of his bitterness. He could tell she was trying to be nice, to look out for him, which he could also tell was not something she was not entirely comfortable with. Something he could relate to.

"Like what, fall off the edge of the temple? You guys must think I'm pretty stupid," he muttered darkly, his body subconsciously heating up again at the thought.

"Well, I think Katara would agree with that," Toph said, more of a snicker to her tone than had been displayed with her earlier speech. Zuko growled low in his throat, his mind playing an image of his body tumbling through the vast sky beneath the temple, his eyes none the wiser to the situation.

"No kidding. What about you? Do you think I'm the kind of person who would just walk right off the edge of a building?" he asked, turning his head towards where he had heard her voice coming from. He listened as she hummed lightly, seemingly thinking about an answer.

"Nah, I don't think so. I think it would take someone pretty clumsy to fall over the edge, even if they were blind, and I don't think you have it in you," Toph said, Zuko smiling sarcastically at her "trust" in his sense of balance. "If you were to ask me, I would say that Sokka would be the number one candidate to fall off the edge," she teased, sensing the slight pick up in Zuko's demeanor.

"He certainly never struck me as the most coordinated guy," Zuko said, his voice picking up a bit as he imagined someone other than himself falling over the edge of the high altitude temple's grounds.

"Pretty much a walking disaster area," she responded, smiling at all the idiotic things Sokka had done during their time traveling the world. The raven haired girl related some of the more humorous events to Zuko, from Sokka's choice to drink the juice from a cactus to the numerous times he had borne the brunt of a deflected bending attack.

As the girl at his side talked, Zuko listened more to her tone of voice than the words themselves, the girl telling him more than he figured she meant to. A sly smile graced his lips as she broke into a fit of laughter, his fingers gently laying upon the cool gray stone.

"You like him, don't you?" he asked directly, the girl's voice and breath catching at the insinuation. _'Bingo,'_ he thought to himself as he listened to her stutter just a bit, trying to outthink the situation.

"W-what do you mean? How did you come up with that idea?" she asked, her cheeks warmer than they had been earlier. The talented bender could almost feel Zuko's smirk, and she had a sudden urge to wipe it from his face.

"Well, I'm no expert on things like this, but the way you talk about him… it sounds happier than you usually sound," he explained, trying his best to keep from bursting into a fit if entirely inappropriate laughter.

"Of course, because it was funny," she responded, her bangs falling across her pale features as she tilted her head downward a bit. The stray wisps of ebony brushed against her soft skin, obscuring sightless mint spheres from whoever might have been looking.

"I don't mean like that. You definitely got this little bit of perkiness to your voice that I haven't heard from you before. I know it's probably not any of my business, but you can tell me about it if you want," he said, trying to be sympathetic to the girl's particular problem. He had never had too much luck with romance in his own life, but he knew that sometimes it was just good to have a shoulder to lean on.

"There's nothing to tell. It was just a stupid crush, and he never saw me in that way so that's the end of it," she said, her voice etched with sadness and annoyance, finding herself oddly unable to stop from spilling her guts to the older boy.

"I'm sorry…" he said, his voice dropping a bit at the sad tone on the younger girl's voice. It sounded to strange to him, to hear Toph, who seemed to be the veritable life of the group, so vulnerable. "But, how do you know that he doesn't see you that way?" he asked, his curiosity offering him a brief respite from wallowing in self pity.

"Maybe because as soon as they met up again, him and Suki just started sucking each other's faces off," she said, making a smooching sound with her lips. Zuko chuckled a bit, realizing that she was still a kid after all, no matter how mature and grown up she might like to act in front of others.

"Really, I'm sorry to hear about that. But, you know, there's always other guys out there," he offered, trying to cheer the girl up. His reward was a punch to the arm, his brows furrowing as he rubbed the sore spot on his right arm.

"What, you think I'm upset because I don't have any guys fawning over me like Sugar Queen? I don't need anything like that," she said, her voice lowering as she concluded her simple statement.

"I didn't say you did," Zuko responded, pulling his hand from the bruised spot on his upper arm. "I'm just saying that, one day, it'll happen for you. It happens for everyone," he said, giving the girl an aimless smile, nearly smacking himself as he realized that she wouldn't be able to see it anyway.

"Ugh, you better not tell anyone what I told you, alright?" she said in a bit of a huff, Zuko's lips curling further as he imagined the rough earth bender blushing like a regular girl. He nodded his head gently, the black hair surrounding his face brushing against the scarred skin around his eye.

"Of course. It's our little secret," he said, his mind resting on something as he thought, for only a moment, that he saw something piercing through the darkness. A soft, almost imperceptible glow of red among the endless black seemed to glow brightly in comparison, before fading away entirely.

'_What the hell was that?'_ he asked his mind, his heart beating a shade faster at the memory of the sight. His mind raced, trying to find some explanation before the girl pushed against his arm, sending his body tumbling to the ground.

"You alright there Sparky? You had me worried that you might have just zoned out," she said, Zuko's eyes involuntarily blinking as he leaned on his elbows. Shaking his head, he let the thought of the red glow slip from his mind, probably just his brain playing some kind of trick on him.

"Toph, can I ask you something?" he asked directly, crossing his legs beneath him as he pulled into a sitting position.

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**Next time we get the rest of their little conversation, and Toph starts helping Zuko in dealing with his ailment. I have an idea of allowing Zuko to see, but I am not sure how to proceed on it, so I will probably be racking my brain coming up with an explanation for it. Don't want this story to go on too long, but I don't want it to be rushed either, so it can be tricky. Anyway, thoughts on OOC-ness are welcome if I fudged things up. Until next time, good readers.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Redness**

**Rating: K**

**Chapter 5 ready for your enjoyment. Just continuing the conversation between the two, and setting up the rest of the story. Most of you probably already figured out where it was going, in terms of Zuko's vision, but here we start getting it down more concretely. Still not exactly sure how I am going to explain it, so any thoughts are appreciated. This chapter will probably go a couple more chapters, likely stopping around 10 or so. Hope you enjoy the chapter.

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"Ugh, no more talking about crushes, or romance or Sokka, alright?" Toph asked, poking Zuko square in the chest as she spoke. His right brow rose upward, the same smile etched on his lips as he spoke.

"I figured you would be past that, but I guess not," he teased, a sly smile crossing his lips as his sightless vision centered on where the girl's voice had come from. A subtle click of her tongue showed her annoyance, his grin slipping as the red glow showed itself to him once again, piercing through the shroud of darkness around him.

"Why the hell are we even talking about stuff like that?" she asked, arms crossed against her chest as she leaned against the wall behind her. Pale cheeks felt warm, and she was glad that Zuko had lost his sense of sight, and that none of the others were there to see her blushing like an average girl.

"Toph, hold still for a moment," Zuko said, his voice barely above a whisper. The raven haired girl froze for a moment, figuring that there was something going on that she had somehow overlooked. Her head swiveled from side to side, trying to pick up any sense of movement or sound in the narrow hallway.

Mint green eyes flashed open, the burning in her cheeks increasing as she felt a tenuous warmth pressing at the soft flesh of her cheek. Like a child running its fingers along a new pattern, she felt the warm digit press firmly against her skin, running in a slow, steady circular pattern over the warm spot.

Realizing where the touch had come from, the girl brushed the hand away, scooting quickly away from the young man at her side. The blind girl felt the temperature of her body increase, sightless eyes resting on the scarred teen, her mind racing from the sudden boldness of his actions.

"What are you doing? You think just because you are blind that you can just do whatever you want?" she asked in a huff, thankful more now than before that no one present could see the probably visible glow of her pale cheeks.

"Huh? Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable," he said, bowing his head gently towards the young girl as he leaned against the wall behind him. The young man looked at his hand, his fingers still tingling with the sensation of Toph's surprisingly smooth, soft skin.

"So, did you get your kicks at feeling my face?" she asked, the stinging warmth fading as her breathing calmed back to normal. She leaned against the opposite wall from the young man, her hand coming to the spot where he had pressed his to her skin. The sense of softness and warmth from his hand still resonated through her body as she found herself retracing the movements of his fingers on her cheek.

"No! It's not like that. I mean, I didn't mean it like that," he excused, groaning as the words seemed to fumble through his lips. He could almost feel the girl's pursed lips as she focused on him, imagining the look of danger on her face at his words.

"Yeah, because I'm not Katara," Toph said, somewhat bitterly as she dropped her hand to the ground beneath her. Pulling her legs up towards her chest, the girl rested her head on the upturned joints, a dull ache finding residence in her chest as his words echoed around in her mind.

"What the heck does Katara have to do with anything?" Zuko asked seriously, figuring there was some kind of reasoning involved. He nearly chuckled at the groan of agony from the young girl, a sound he recognized and could eminently relate to.

"Why the hell do you want to know that?" Toph countered, lamenting the fact that she found herself falling deeper and deeper into the hole she had dug herself. She wondered why she was being so chatty with Zuko, how he was managing to get her to open up so easily. It had taken the others so much longer to get to her, and even they couldn't get her to open up as much as she was with him.

Guilt? Was it just that she felt bad for putting him in the position he was in? Her mind latched onto that thought, figuring that it made plenty of sense. She had felt guilty about things done to the others in the past, usually followed by an emotional sense of closure. But it had never been as bad as what she had done to Zuko.

Her mind accepted the thought, figuring that there was only one other real alternative, which was certainly not what she wanted to think of. Shaking her head, she waited for him to continue, to get to his point.

"It just seems like you are a little… jealous of Katara," Zuko said, his bare feet rubbing against the smooth stone on the floor as he stretched his legs out. Wiggling his toes, he tried to think about what that brief red glow had been, and how he had seen that one color amidst the darkness.

"Me? Jealous of Katara? How could I be jealous of anyone, when I'm the greatest earth bender in the world?" she asked, hoping that her seemingly natural cockiness might mask any of the self doubt she held about herself.

"Because some things have nothing to do with bending," he said, as though speaking from some kind of personal experience. "Look, you don't have to talk to me about it, but you should know that I've got a good set of ears for listening. Lots of practice since my uncle never shut up," he said, rolling the golden spheres in his head as he heard the girl laugh gently.

"I bet your uncle would love Sokka. I'd have to go out on my own if they were ever in the same room together," Toph said, an exaggerated gagging sound escaping her lips at the thought of two talkative people getting together. Zuko shuddered a bit at the thought as well, an image of himself as the center of a long series of jokes and anecdotes.

"If that ever happens, you better take me with you," he said, feeling a more pleasant atmosphere pass between the two. Soft breathing filled the space between them, sounding in each other ears as his feet nearly brushed against hers.

"It's just… I feel the changes in every guy when they're around her. Like she has some kind of charm that makes all the guys go nuts for her," she said, her tone dropping as she tried to keep her composure. As much as she didn't want to admit it, it was frustrating. To know that almost every guy they met held some affection for the young water bender.

"And you want guys to go nuts over you like that?" Zuko surmised, his face falling into a slightly serious expression.

"No. I don't need anything like that…" she lied, her mind cursing at her for her voice sounding so weak and frail. As powerful as she was, as many enemies as she could take down with a thought, she knew she was still just a girl.

"I'm sorry," he muttered carefully, his eyes opening a bit as his toes touched against her bare feet. He felt the girl's body tense up a bit under the touch, his feet pulling back instinctively so that he didn't make her uncomfortable.

"I get it, you know? So, nobody sees me as a girl. I don't need any of that," she said, feeling a bitterness in her chest at the thought. The numerous people who they had met, and they all treated her the same. Like a little sister, or a powerful earth bender or a friend.

"You don't get it. I'm sure it happens for everyone. It happened for me," he said, his left fingers tracing the outline of the disfiguring scar on his face. His mind flashed with images of Mai, his chest tightening with regret at the thought. Toph's head tilted to the side, sensing a shift in Zuko's mood.

"So who was she?" the girl asked, curiosity temporarily taking the place of her bitter sadness regarding her situation. She felt the heaviness of his heart, the slight slowing of his heart as his mind raced.

"It's not important," he said defensively, leaning his head more harshly against the wall at his back. A deep sigh escaped his lips, the breath escaping hastily as his eyes closed. A soft rustling of cloth reached his ears, and he imagined that the girl was scooting a bit closer to him.

"Come on, I opened up to you, so you have to do the same, right? That's the rules of fair trade," Toph explained, smirking as she sensed an opportunity to learn something about the Fire Prince.

"You only opened up because of guilt," he shot right back, the girl stopping just a bit at the mention of her motives. How the hell could he have possibly assumed that? Figuring he had hit the nail on the head, he figured it would be alright to share something personal with the younger girl. "Mai, my girlfriend. I had to leave her behind when I came to join you guys," he said, the sadness pushing against his chest as he spoke.

"She means a lot to you, doesn't she?" Toph asked, putting on her most sympathetic voice as she scooted closer to the older boy once again.

"Yeah, I guess she does," he responded honestly, wondering just how upset the girl must have been to receive his note and to know that he had abandoned her. His fingers pressed against his thighs, digging into the supple muscle on his legs as the thought teased him.

"I'm sure she'll understand, when the whole thing is over," she blind girl said, finding herself resting next to the young man. His natural warmth seemed to invite her closer, pushing away any slight discomfort of the room surrounding them.

"You don't know Mai, apparently. She can be a little bit vindictive at times. Probably a memento from being around Azula so long," Zuko said, trying to sound as indifferent about the possibility as he could.

"Well, if she doesn't get it, then I could just "talk" some sense into her," Toph said, smacking a closed fist against the opposing palm for certainty. Zuko couldn't help but smile, his mood lightened by the helpfulness of the younger girl. He had a feeling she was just humoring him, but was thankful nonetheless.

"Nah, but thanks for the offer. Hopefully I can count on you to "talk" to some other people if the time comes," he teased, knowing how rough the blind girl could be at certain points. The two shared a small laugh as they each imagined Toph actually trying to hold a pointed discussion with someone else.

"So, um, Zuko, can I ask you something?" the girl started, darkened bangs hanging in front of frosted green eyes. She felt the tips of hair brushing lazily against her skin, tickling her as they tended to do at times.

"Sure, I guess," Zuko said, wondering what the girl was getting at. His brows knit together as the soft red glow returned once again, as though it were simply teasing him. Remembering where the glow had come from, he noticed that it was a bit closer, and just a bit larger than it had been before.

"Do you really think that? You know, about it happening for everyone?" she asked, an uncharacteristic hesitance to her voice. Zuko smirked, reaching up towards the soft red glow from her cheeks. Raising his hand higher, he ruffled the messy black hair on the girl's head, feeling her irritation at the childish way of treatment.

"Yeah, I do think it happens for everyone. But you know, if you like someone, sometimes you have to let them know. Especially if they're as thick headed as Sokka," he said, pulling his fingers from within the girl's raven locks. A gentle huff escaped her lips as he set his hand down at his side again, brushing the fingertips over the cool material beneath him.

"God, why does everyone treat me like a kid?" she asked somewhat rhetorically, tensing as a snicker escaped the lips of the older teen accompanying her.

"Because you are a kid. We all are, really, but you and Aang the most," Zuko said, listening to the groan of annoyance from the younger girl. "But, that's not a bad thing. I never really had a chance to enjoy a normal childhood," he explained, hoping to cheer the girl up even a little bit.

"If the Palace is anything like my house, then I know what you mean," she said, cringing at the thought of all the formality and politics involved in high society life. It had been one of the reasons she had so eagerly left behind her old life to help the Avatar.

"Well, I guess it could be the same, but I'm sure I could top whatever horror stories you might have about growing up," he said bitterly, his mind blanking at the thought of his cruel, often indifferent father and his manipulative, conniving sister.

"Oh, yeah. I almost forgot where you grew up," she responded honestly, her mind nearly passing over that key piece of information about the young man.

Silence passed between them, a bit more awkward than it had been before. They had shared more intimate thoughts about one another than they were used to, each taking the opposing information carefully as they slipped into thought. Toph was the first to grow tired of the annoying silence, clapping her hands to the ground as she decided to break the silence.

"So, what was it that you were going to ask before we got sidetracked?" she asked, mildly curious as to how much time had passed since they had started talking. The girl wondered if the others had noticed the lack of their presence at breakfast, figuring that Sokka especially wouldn't have taken note.

"Oh, I was just a bit curious about something, that's all," he said, having forgotten about the matter entirely during the course of their short conversation.

"So, you gonna ask what it is that you're curious about, or aren't you?" she asked, nudging his arm almost painfully, in the same spot she had managed to punch him before. The young man groaned, figuring that if he didn't have a bruise there before, that he certainly did now.

"I was just wondering, how it is that you can make your way around so confidently even though you're blind," he said, his cheeks flaring a bit as he recalled the times he had bumped into stuff in the limited time he had been blinded. His shins throbbed in agreement, his mind playing back an image of him bumping into the edge of his bed.

"Why would you be wondering that?" she asked, her head aimlessly tilting downward as she waited for some response from him. It was something she had already explained to the others in the group, but it hadn't really occurred to her that Zuko was still in the dark about it. He always treated her in a way that seemed to discount her condition entirely, either out of disinterest or lack of knowledge.

"Well, I don't want to be smacking my face into walls or banging my shins on things while I am walking. And I certainly don't want to walk over the edge of the temple, and fall to my death," he said, shuddering at the thought, both from the inherent embarrassment involved, and the probability that one among the group would find an odd delight in the act.

"I think Sugar Queen wouldn't mind. You really do need to tell me what happened between you two in Ba Sing Se sometime," Toph said, smirking as she sensed the tension in the older boy's body at the mention of the Earth Kingdom city.

"She really does have a surprisingly large amount in common with Azula. It's actually kind of scary," he said, Toph's face lighting up as she imagined the fun she could have with letting the water bender know that Zuko had said such a thing.

"So, what do you want to know, exactly?" she asked, trying to hide the amusement from her voice as she spoke. The girl listened to the soft rustling of his tunic, picturing his fingers digging into his arms as he crossed them against his chest.

"I was just curious how you get around so easily, like you can actually see," he said, his mind trying to figure the skill out without having to ask the girl. He thought for a moment that she would not let him know, that she might simply leave it to his imagination. The blind girl paused, considering just that possibility, before beginning her short explanation.

"I don't see the way you guys usually see. I use my earth bending as a sort of extension of my senses," she said, sensing his confusion and surprise at the simple answer. "What that means is that I use earth bending to sense the vibrations in the ground, to give me a picture of the world around me," she said, smacking her fist against the ground in illustration.

"So I guess that goes for your own footsteps as well, right?" he asked, his mind working through an idea as he thought back to the short bursts of red he had caught beyond the blackness earlier in their conversation.

"You got it, Sparky. When something moves on the ground, I can "see" it. Right down to people's heartbeats," she said, smirking as she heard him mumble something about being impressed with the ability. "So fess up, why were you so curious about it?" she asked, wanting to get to the bottom of the matter as quickly as possible.

"Didn't anyone ever teach you that patience is a virtue?" he asked rhetorically, his mind resting on a single thought, an ability that his uncle had demonstrated on a few occasions in the past.

"Never believed it. Things happen much quicker when you actually do something about it," she said, shrugging her shoulders as though the statement were supremely obvious to anyone who thought about it.

"But if you don't show a little patience, you can regret it," he said, again speaking from personal experience. He had shown disregard for planning on many an occasion, usually resulting in danger for him and those around him.

"Speaking from experience, I take it?" the girl asked, teasing the older boy with her question as she turned her gaze towards him.

"Yeah. But I have another question for you. Do you suppose it's possible for someone to "see" with any of the other elements?" he asked, running his long fingers through his thick mess of black hair as he spoke.

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**Ah, now we are getting into the meat of the story. I wonder how it is going to evolve from here. Not sure how much romance there will be here, but there will likely be some as the two continue to spend more time together. Thoughts, as I said, are always welcome. Next time they go over Zuko's crazy idea, and more fluffy conversation. Until then, good readers.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: Friendly Glow**

**Rating: K**

**Another chapter for the readers' enjoyment. This chapter was actually easy to type once I got started. Took a couple days off from writing (one by choice, the other not so much), and now I have a general idea of where this story is going. Would have written this Sunday, but I got caught up in watching Batman Beyond (no way they will show anything that dark nowadays) and there were computer problems yesterday. Anyway, hopefully I can finish this soon, and thoughts as always are appreciated. Enjoy.

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"What? You mean, like, using fire bending to see or something?" Toph asked, blinking a few times as the thought made its way through her head. Surprised was the best word she could come up with, having never really thought that another element could be used in a similar fashion to her own.

"Yeah. I was just a little curious if you thought it was at least possible," he continued, dropping his fingers to either side of his body. Leaning forward a bit, he could almost feel the girl thinking about it, the silence almost deafening to him.

"Well, I don't know. Do you think it's possible? I mean, what made you even consider the possibility of it?" she asked, wanting to get a little more information on what exactly was going on in his head.

"You remember a little while ago when I, uh, touched your face?" he asked, feeling a twinge of fear in his stomach as he brought it up. His body instinctively recoiled, expecting some sort of punishment for mentioning it to her, but after a moment, he realized the no retaliation was coming.

"Yeah, what about it?" she countered, a hint of what he would have sworn was shyness or embarrassment. The tone hung in his ears as his mind clicked back into action, his head shaking carefully as he got back to the point.

"Ah, see, when you were talking, just for a second, I saw a little bit of red past the darkness. When I reached towards it, my fingers came into contact with your cheek, and it felt really warm," he explained, wondering if her skin was always so warm, or if there was some other explanation for it.

"W-well, of course it was warm, most people are when they're living," Toph said, her voice catching a bit as she realized she had been blushing at that time. Her mind started racing, wondering how he had been able to pick up on _that_ of all situations.

"I guess you're right. But, that got me thinking, maybe I can somehow see the heat in things around me," he continued, not noticing the slight change in the younger girl's tone of voice at the mention of her warm skin.

"You mean, like using fire bending to see heat?" she asked, thankful for a brief respite from mentioning her previous situation. The girl felt him nod, her lips pursing together as she crossed her arms, passing the information through her mind. Somehow it seemed so obvious to think about after hearing his idea, and she wondered how she hadn't thought of it.

"Something like that, anyway. So I was wondering if you thought it was possible or not, seeing as you managed to figure out a way to see without seeing," he said, feeling oddly nervous that maybe the girl wouldn't agree to give him any advice, or that she would shoot his theory down and leave him with little recourse aside from fumbling around like an idiot for the rest of his natural life.

"I don't know for sure, but it sounds like it should be possible. Everything does give off some level of heat, so if you can focus your energy outward, it shouldn't be too hard to pick up on that," she said carefully, still thinking about the possibility in her mind. On one hand, she was glad he was not moping around, and was thinking about ways to help himself.

But on the other hand, she wasn't sure if she was comfortable with someone being able to pick up on things like increased body heat or blushes. One she enjoyed hiding behind turned backs or lengthened bangs, and the other she was just glad nobody could pick up on. Plus, though she wouldn't really mention it to anyone, she liked having such a unique skill to call her own.

Turning her unique gaze on Zuko, she could feel his nerves calm down just a bit, her lips curving into a soft smile. She wondered idly if he was as expressive with his facial features as his body was with its heartbeats and other movements.

Taking a deep breath, Toph accepted that it wouldn't be so bad to help the guy out, especially given how hard he was being treated by Katara in particular. "Alright, I'll help you out and see if you can get the hang of this thing. I'm not making any guarantees, but you should feel honored to have such a skilled bender to teach you," she said, in all her usual confidence.

"Yeah, it's such an honor," he said sarcastically, the tone almost coming on instinct from his time with Mai. Pulling himself to his feet, he dusted his loose fitting pants off, brushing the traces of dust from the crimson garment. "So, when do you feel like starting?" he asked, rolling his shoulders to rid himself of the mild stiffness that had crept into them.

As he did a few simple stretches, he listened as the girl's stomach again sounded through the narrow corridor. Turning his head towards her, he again saw the slight burst of red through the blackness, and he wondered all over again why he was only able to see it sometimes.

"I'd say that it's probably better to do it after we get something to eat. You better be more thankful for me helping you, and don't expect me to go easy on you," she said, the red flaring just a bit as she grasped his wrist, leading him down the hall towards where the others had set up for the morning meal.

"Wait, I thought you already went and ate," Zuko suggested, his good brow rising quizzically at the shorter girl's seemingly contrary actions and words. She was, he figured, the most difficult person among the Avatar's group to figure out. One second she was all goofy and dangerously mischievous, and the next she was understanding and caring.

"Someone had to make sure you didn't off yourself by walking into something dangerous," she said, the soft padding of bare feet sounding pleasantly in his ears. Following her lead, he found himself trusting her pace, not scraping his feet against the cold floor beneath him. His toes did not stub as often as he entrusted himself to the younger girl, his impression of the girl again slipping into his mind.

"How thoughtful of you," he said genuinely, putting in an effort to mask the sarcastic tone of voice that had seeped into his consciousness during his time in the Fire Nation. Training his gaze on the girl, he could almost _feel_ a smile forming on her lips, and he found himself wondering what she looked like happy.

Golden eyes flashed open with that thought, his pulse quickening just a tick as he imagined the girl's soft smile. Gaining composure of himself once again, he blinked a few times, thankful that the pale skinned girl had seemingly taken no notice of his gratefully temporary increase in heart rate.

His eyes instinctively closed against the warmth of the Sun above as they exited the somewhat chilled interior of the Air Temple, his mind mentally smacking him for being such an idiot and flinching at something he couldn't even see.

"Hey, where were you two…?" Zuko's eyes knit together as he listened to the young warrior's voice trail off a bit, wondering what he had found so surprising. Aimlessly turning his head, he attempted to figure out what the boy was so surprised about. He felt the presences of the others, muffled whispered reaching his ears as they each murmured something amongst themselves.

"What the heck are you all staring at?" Toph asked in that uniquely crass manner of hers, her foot stomping on the ground as she sent a small tremor through the ground, as though to remind everyone that she could make things extremely unpleasant for them if she so wished.

"Umm, Toph, why are you holding Zuko's hand?" Aang asked, a confused but excited tone to his voice. Zuko blinked, a gesture that he knew Toph must have been imitating. He felt her body tense a bit, and he realized with a bit of a start that during their walk through the corridor that their hands had become entwined.

"How did that happen?" he asked, not finding the warmth and surprising softness of her fingers clasped around his to be altogether unpleasant. The red glow flared again, permeating his world of darkness with a warm light as she pulled her hand away from his, an almost inaudible gasp escaping her lips.

"I was just, uh, making sure he didn't stub his toes or anything like that," she excused, Zuko weakly nodding in agreement as the girl carefully jabbed him in the stomach with her left elbow.

"Yeah, she was just leading me out to breakfast," he said, going along with what the girl had said, shrugging as though it were not something too important. The scarred teen could almost feel the others looking at one another in mild discomfort, as though attempting to determine the honesty of their mutual response.

"Well, there's not much left, since _some_ people can't seem to ever be satisfied," Katara said, Zuko's mind grateful that someone other than him could receive even a fraction of the young water bender's wrath. He listened as Sokka mumbled something about his appetite, and the food being too tasty as he and Toph made their way towards the small gathering point.

The sound of a metallic ladle scraping against the base of a large kettle resounded in his ears, his hands outstretching as the girl grudgingly said that his portion was ready. Nodding gently, Zuko offered humble thanks for the meal before hesitantly grasping the spoon in his fingers.

He felt a surge of embarrassment as he kept the small bowl near his head, so as to avoid dropping any of the sustenance onto the ground beneath him. Natural frustration kicked in, his mind trying to convince him that this was utter humiliation, for the Crown Prince of the Fire Nation to be reduced to eating his food like a cripple.

The more reasonable part of his mind, the part that remembered all his past difficulties on the run from the Fire Nation, argued with that, teasing him a bit as though his condition were some kind of karmic justice and that he had better get used to it if he was to have any semblance of happiness in life.

Once the last chunks of meat were gone, he brought the small bowl to his lips, sucking down the thin broth as hastily as he could manage. Once the last drops were drained, he wiped his lips with the back of his hand, offering the bowl back to Katara with another mutterance of thanks for the meal such that it was.

"Alright, now that we're done with breakfast, it's time to get to your new training, Sparky," Toph said, Zuko's eyes narrowing as he figured she was displaying far too much joy at the prospect of lording anything over him.

"Training? What kind of training?" Aang asked, his utterly innocent tone of voice grating further on Zuko's already frayed nerves. Part of him wanted to scream at the younger kid that it was none of his business, and maybe toss a ball of fire at the kid, but grudgingly just let it pass. The last thing he needed was to light something important on fire in a fit of annoyed rage.

"It's nothing too special. I'm just going to teach this useless lump over here how to see," Toph said, an unmistakable pride in her voice as she hiked her thumb in the direction of the annoyed Fire Prince. At this, Zuko heard the collective gasps of surprise as his own eyes shot open wide at her taunting.

"Who's useless!?" he shouted, all his royal indignity flaring to the surface at the insult from the younger girl. His nostrils flared open, his breathing more heavy as he focused his attention on the girl, as though she would feel some distinguishable anguish at his mere annoyance with her.

"I'm not wrong, am I? In your current condition, you're pretty much useless," she said, Zuko's righteous fury fading like a campfire doused with an overwhelming tidal wave of ocean on top of it.

"Ugh…" he said, his head flopping down toward his chest as the fight left his body. A light giggle sounded from the blind girl, and he really lamented his condition more at that moment than any other in the past day. "Maybe it wasn't a good idea to tell you that," he said, his voice so low that only Toph could hear him clearly.

"Aww, it's nothing to be embarrassed about. And look at it this way, afterwards you'll have something that nobody else in the world does," she said, smacking the older boy on the back as she spoke. Zuko's mind again focused on how double minded the girl seemed to be at times, making her even harder to estimate in terms of her personality.

'_Girls are crazy.'_ The thought from his childhood came to mind, his lips curling slightly at the corners at the short mantra he had held in mind during his youth. While the girls he had grown up with had their quirks, none were as difficult to figure out as the young earth bender, and a light chuckle escaped his lips as he realized how true the words could be.

"How are _you_ going to teach _him_ how to see?" Sokka asked, finding the entire notion wholly unbelievable. Toph whistled in an impressed tone, realizing that Sokka had finally remembered her blindness before speaking.

"Well, I don't want to get everyone's hopes up, so I'll just say that Princess here came up with an idea, and he needs my help," she said, smirking at the increase of Zuko's heart rate at the second nickname. The others looked at the scene with apprehension, the tension in Zuko's body apparent to even those without the ability to detect pulse and heartbeats.

Zuko rolled his eyes, figuring that everyone had directed their attention on him, likely looking for some kind of explanation. The young man simply shrugged his shoulders, another affectation he had picked up from the usually indifferent Mai. Without giving any further explanation, the black haired teen felt the younger girl again tug harshly on his hand, pulling him off towards the forest surrounding the temple.

Having next to no memory of the layout of the tangled trees, the young man again let himself be led by the little blind girl, following her footsteps as well as he was able. The soft crunching of dirt beneath their feet sounded in his ears, along with the swishing of tree branches as the pair swept through the trees.

After a seeming eternity of walking, the teen felt his apparent teacher come to a stop. Zuko straightened a bit as he tried to picture what kind of scene they were in, what kind of area she had dragged them to for this "training" she had in mind. His face twitched as a twinge of pain emanated from his feet, his mind again cursing at him for not remembering to slip on his shoes that morning.

"Alright, I guess this will work alright," Toph said in the self satisfied kind of voice that Zuko found reminded him far too much of his sister. He wondered how anyone could sound so confident, so sure of themselves seemingly at all times.

"Are you sure doing this in the middle of the forest is a good idea? I mean, it could be really bad if something goes wrong," he said, images of a scorched forest flaring through his mind, along with the looks of contempt and hatred on the faces of the members of the Avatar's traveling group.

"That just gives you more incentive to get it right and don't set the world on fire, doesn't it?" she asked, and he KNEW she was smirking as she spoke. He had to admit, he held a certain admiration for her obviously direct method to doing everything. Despite his mind's simple protestations, he felt a smile tugging at his lips as he wandered gingerly around the clearing.

"Alright, but if it does go wrong, I'm not taking all the blame myself," he said, his smile growing as the girl snickered a bit at the notion. Coming to a stop, the young man glanced down aimlessly at what he guessed to be the ground in the darkness, letting his mind try and fill in the blanks of the scenery.

He tried to think of the swaying branches, the rustling leaves and blades of grass. The croaking of the badger frogs and the rustling of the other assorted creatures in the forest lingered past the rustling of plantlife, and he felt a sense of odd calmness pass over him.

The calm didn't last, as he felt a hard smack against the small of his back, his eyes bolting open as his body stumbled forward a bit. Once he had regained his composure, he stared daggers at the young earth bender, hoping that he was staring in the right direction.

"What the heck was that for?" he asked, his heart's pattern of beating gradually coming back to normal after the initial surprise. He listened as the girl shuffled lazily away from him, her feet nearly stomping into the somewhat softened earth beneath her feet.

"This isn't just a chance to relax. We are going to be working hard at this, so you better be taking it seriously," she said, pointing her finger at the young man on the opposing end of the small clearing as she turned on him. Black bangs swayed gently in her face with the breeze, her loose fitting clothing similarly fluttering.

Blinking a few times, the young man nodded his head gently, mumbling an apology and a word of thanks in advance for the girl's help. A silence passed between them as he figured she was thinking of what exactly they would do to start. He knew at the very least that dealing with an entirely separate element was going to be difficult for the younger girl.

He wondered if he would really be able to do something that seemingly nobody had thought of doing in the past.

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**I think there will be three or four chapters left of this story, including a sort of epilogue chapter to close it out at the end. Next time, Zuko starts his training to master this new method of fire bending, and we get a bit more in terms of development of the romantic angle. Liking this couple more and more as I write this, though still not quite as much as my main three. But I am considering putting this one in my upcoming Zuko x harem story, but not sure. Makes me smile thinking of where that one is already going in my head. Until next time, faithful readers.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: Perseverance**

**Rating: K**

**Chapter 7, woohoo. I have decided there will be three more chapters to this story, to get to a total of 10 chapters. This chapter was a bit of a pain, mostly thinking of how to explain the whole 'seeing with bending' aspect of it. So much science involved in the concept that I couldn't quite get a hold of. Anyway, if there are any thoughts on how to improve it, then I am open to ideas. That said, enjoy the chapter.

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"Okay," the girl said after a few moments' thought, snapping the young man's attention back towards her. Blinking a few times, the scarred teen stared after the direction the voice had sounded from, only then realizing that he had nearly fallen asleep. Rubbing the mild amount of sleep from his eyes, he straightened his back, legs crossed beneath his body.

"Okay, you figured something out?" he asked, half expectantly and half in mild fear for what the girl might suggest. From the admittedly little time he had spent with their little group, he had managed to figure out that Toph was anything but easy, going hard on Aang in their earth bending lessons.

Zuko listened as the barefooted girl made her way back towards him from the opposite end of the small clearing, small twigs crunching beneath her feet. The sound of moving dirt somehow reassured him, giving him a sense of a solid world beyond the veil of darkness that had been cast over him.

"You know how when things get hot, you can feel the heat to come degree before you even touch it, right?" Toph asked, to which Zuko rolled his eyes. Listening to the girl, he could almost picture her standing over him, arms crossed against her chest as her soft mint green eyes stared aimlessly down at him.

A small tremor beneath him served to remind him that he had better be serious with the girl, his heart rate increasing as his mind played back the scene that had put him in that particular predicament. "Of course. Heat radiates outward, and a some fire benders can control the heat of objects they touch," he said, giving a very brief explanation of the concept.

"Well, aren't we just full of answers," the girl said, a distinctly mocking tone to her voice as she spoke. Zuko thought for a second about explaining it more in depth, to push against the girl just a bit, but decided against it.

"That's just the basics. I don't have as much ability with it as my uncle, but I get the basics of it. I assume there is a purpose of making such an obvious point?" he asked, his inborn frustration bubbling to the surface a bit at the girl's generally superior tone of voice and demeanor.

"Of course. And if you want to compare master knowledge of bending, maybe I should show you my metal bending technique," she said, his body shuddering just a bit at the slight drop in the girl's tone.

"Don't see how it would be much good to me in this situation," he said through the tensing of his body, an ability instilled in him through years growing up in the house that he had come from. He had not witnessed the girl's technique firsthand, but knew that the last thing he wanted was a pointed demonstration of the ability.

"Good point. Just wanted to let you know that I have skills you can't even imagine," she said, all triumph in her voice at being the first to master a technique. Zuko's anger began to flow just a bit, her tone reminding him more and more of his sister. He wondered if she did it on purpose, or if it was just something about the girls around him that made them feel so superior all the time.

"So, what about the heat emanating thing?" he asked, impatience getting the better of him for a moment. After muttering a rushed apology, he bowed his head gently, waiting for the girl to continue.

"Well, normally you wouldn't need to pay much attention to the heat of objects, aside from deciding if they were safe to touch. But since you can't rely on your natural sight, you will have to focus more on the emanation of heat," Toph explained, hoping she was making enough sense for the young man to follow.

"So… how do I do that, exactly?" he asked, inquisition gaining the advantage over hesitance or doubt. The scarred teen nearly forgot that he was not talking to a fire bender, his mind open to whatever she was going to advise for him to get over this hurdle.

"With my earth bending sense of sight, it's kind of like I leave my energy pathways open a little bit all the time, to follow the vibrations in the ground," she continued, thinking only a bit about what she would say next. As confident as she liked to act, the young girl knew that she was treading into unknown waters for her.

"That doesn't help me very much, since I'm not an earth bender," he said, his brighter mood flagging a bit as a thought of hopelessness entered his mind. Sure, Toph was a skilled earth bender, but really, what could she teach him about fire bending. _'I wish uncle were here,'_ he said in his mind, his heart thudding a bit with the thought of the older man.

"You're the one who said patience is a virtue, right?" the dark haired girl teased, not able to pass up a chance to prod the young man. Just from the shift in his body's various vibrations, the girl could tell that it had had the desired effect as he slouched forward just a little bit.

"Never been one that I practiced much," he admitted, earning a light snort and chuckle from the girl in front of him. Thoughts of his failed attempts to capture the Avatar flashed through his mind, especially his foray into the Northern Water Tribe. If he had been more patient, and thought of a plan, that could have been his crowning triumph.

But then, that seemed to be the story of his life. 'If only…' seemed to be the phrase that best summed up how his life had unfolded. 'If only he were as talented as Azula'. 'If only he had thought ahead a little.' His mind was sidetracked from thinking of the 'what ifs' with a whack on his forehead, his "teacher" attempting to regain his focus.

"As I was going to say before you decided to interrupt, I think the way to do this is to focus your energy outward, to sense the heat in the world around you," she said, as though it were the most simple thing in the world.

"Oh, it's just that easy, is it?" he asked rhetorically, a low growl sounding in the depths of his throat as he thought to previous attempts at techniques involving energy direction. The feel of exploding fireballs in his face came to the surface, the failed attempts at creating lighting.

"Yep, it's just that easy. I think the easiest thing would be to try and 'see' a little bit of fire in your hand, so that you will have contact with it. Now, create a little flame in the palm of your hand," Toph instructed, to which Zuko reluctantly agreed. A slight twitch of his fingers and there was a small orb of flame, dancing in the palm of his hand.

"Okay, now what?" he asked, feeling the reassuring sense of heat emanating from the small orb of flame. A small smile tugged at the edges of his mouth, imagining the small ball as it danced against the gentle breeze around him.

"Good. Now, try and focus on the _heat_ from the fire," she said, her words causing his eyebrows to lift just a bit. It sounded to simple to hear it from her, but he had never really tried it before. He wondered briefly if his uncle were able to do such a thing, or Azula for that matter.

Taking a deep breath, Zuko tried to recall what his uncle had taught him about energy during his lesson about lightning. At least, what his uncle had _tried_ to teach him. He felt his brows furrow, following the flow of energy as well as he was able through his body. Forcing his mind to work, he could almost picture the flow of energy through his body, like its own little stream throughout his body.

From the 'sea of chi' in his stomach, up through his torso then down his right arm, where it seemed to almost disappear at the palm of his hand. Time seemed to click past at an almost snail's pace, each tick of the mental clock ruining his concentration. After what felt like an hour, but was actually about a minute, the young man's fingers clenched, squeezing the ball of fire out of existence.

"Well, that was something. Don't forget, you're supposed to focus your energy outward, not inward. Receptive instead of forceful," Toph advised, sensing his frustration even after a single failure. She felt his body move slightly as he nodded, again willing a small orb of fire into the palm of his right hand.

Again he followed the flow of energy, finding the same frustration as it seemed to end at his hand. Feeling the agitation grow, the young man took a few calming breaths, focusing on the end of the flow of energy. He knew that it was taking some energy to keep the ball of fire in control, it was just a matter of finding it.

As he continued to focus, his skin began to absorb the warmth of the small flame, seeping into the flesh on his hand. The young man smiled, comforted by the unyielding warmth of his native element. After a few more minutes of concentration, he felt the exit of the chi from his body. Pushing the feeling further, he focused on the point of contact between the emanation of heat and his palm.

The gentle, soothing warmth increased the natural heat from his own body, a thin layer of sweat forming on the skin. "I can feel something. Where the energy exits on my palm, and give way to the flame," he explained, a gentle smile on his face as he spoke to the young girl across from him.

"That's just the start. Try and let the feeling of the heat go to your mind, to fill in the outline of the fire," Toph said, impressed that he had seemingly hooked onto the beginning of the technique in relatively quick time. She figured that he had some instruction in the flow of energy from another source, and that it was helping him more than a little.

A smile tugged at her own lips as she assumed that his lessons had come from the wise old man who served as his uncle and confidant. The old man she had met on a couple of occasions and had developed a respect for. Advice and tea seemed to be the old man's specialties, and she found herself wishing for a cup of his simple but delicious tea.

Forcing her mind back to the matter at hand, she felt his body beginning to show slight signs of strain, his body focused on keeping the ball of fire in his palm without it going out of control or fading from existence. But past the slight increase in exhaustion, she could feel a slight glimmer of happiness, figuring that he had started getting the hang of it.

While it was only a little bit, Zuko could make out the vague outline of the fire, a deeper red than what he had witnessed when talking to Toph earlier that day. The deep color lightened as the heat emanated outward, dropping to a light orange hue at the edge of the radiation of energy.

Not one to settle for small advantages, Zuko continued to try, forcing his sense to expand even a little bit each time. Time passed, the notion lost on the once banished Prince of the Fire Nation, so dedicated was he to gaining as much mastery of this new technique as hid body would allow.

As minutes accumulated to hours, Zuko continued to practice with the new technique, keeping a small orb of fire in his hand until he had mastered its shape. He could see the small orb, and the outline of heat against his hand. The scope of his new "sight" was limited, only a foot or so surrounding his body, but as the Sun dipped into the distant horizon, the young man fell forward onto his palms, sweat beading down his forehead in exhaustion.

While he had been practicing, Toph had kept an eye on him, surprised at how determined he had been just to figure it out. It was something that had to be practically beaten into Aang, to work hard to master simple moves. But Zuko exhibited the willingness to work himself to the point of exhaustion with no prompting.

Where she usually kept her unique vision focused on the world around her, to look out for enemies or other important things, she gradually found herself focusing more on the young man in her company. Almost in such a way that she didn't notice it herself, feeling the strain on his body as he channeled his chi almost endlessly throughout his body.

Even without asking, she could tell he was making minor progress, his body relaxing every span of a few minutes. A feeling she recognized as comfort, being able to "see" any part of one's surroundings after a period of sightlessness. The raven haired girl paid no notice of how much time was passing, simply focusing on the steady progress of the young man.

For whatever flaws he might have, determination was apparently not a problem. The girl found a smile gracing her features as she continued to observe him, wondering what the world would look like through colors instead of vibrations. The light heartedness stopped as he slumped forward, his body giving into the exhaustion of nearly constant fire bending.

Not on a large scale, but consistent nonetheless. "So, you ready to call it a day?" she asked, the smallest trace of worry slipping into her voice. His breathing was heavy and labored, another clear indicator of his tiredness.

"I guess so. I don't think I could make another flame if I tried," he joked, dusting off his pants as he brought himself to his feet. The scarred teen tried to get his breathing under control, to brush off some measure of the exhaustion that had found its way into his body after the constant light strain.

"Well, I bet the others are really worried," Toph said, taking hold of the young man's hand as she began towards the abandoned temple. Turning his sight towards the young girl, he found himself gazing at a light red outline, his lips quirking up in a triumphant smile at the sight.

"I don't really say this often, but, thanks Toph," he said, his smile widening at the slight darkening of the red of her small frame. The young man had to fight to keep a chuckle from escaping his lips, a mental image of the girl blushing filling his mind.

"It's no problem, Zuko. I just owed you, and didn't want to be leading you around all the time we're here," she said, trying to find an excuse. A fluttering, light feeling found its way into her stomach as they walked, her hand tugging on his as they made their way back through the mess of trees.

The girl could tell that there was a bit more confidence in his step as they walked, probably a result of his being able to make out at least a little of the world around him. "It looks kind of weird, you know?" he said, seemingly catching a stray thought from her mind.

"What does?" she asked, curious as to where his mind was leading him at that moment.

"Everything. Even without heat, if I focus, I can make out a fuzzy shape of things with a lack of heat. Most of it looks kind of blue, like ice cold skin," he said, keeping his attention focused on "seeing" as far around him as he could. He wondered all over again how the girl managed to do it without tiring herself out, or if it was a natural thing for her.

"Well, I don't know much about colors, but I guess that would be a little weird," she said, Zuko mentally kicking himself for speaking so carelessly without considering her own condition. He could understand where Sokka would have trouble remembering from time to time, since she certainly didn't act blind usually.

"Sorry. I'm still just getting used to this whole thing. Is it always so tiring, to focus your attention on trying to find things that you can see?" he asked, his eyelids hooding closed as the upside down temple came into Toph's "view".

"Well, I'm sure that using fire bending to see heat would take a little more energy than feeling vibrations, but as you get used to it, I'm sure it'll become less exhausting. Not to mention, you won't have to bend a flame to see, so that'll help too," she said, a yawn escaping her lips as they entered the small clearing of the temple.

The pair slipped past the square fountain with ease, Toph not fully realizing that she was still holding the hand that had spent a majority of the last few hours bending a constant flame. Soothing warmth crept along her skin, filling her with an almost unexplainable sense of comfort and security. A feeling like the world was filled with the comforting feeling.

The soothing sensation left as they entered the temple, Zuko's hand leaving hers as his feet padded against the slightly cleaner carved stone of the narrow corridor. Toph's heart dropped just a bit, wondering why her hand felt so cold all of a sudden.

"Thanks again, Toph. I guess I'll see you tomorrow," he said, bowing aimlessly towards the young girl. Keeping his red hazed vision on the girl, he watched her wave her hand gently towards him, the red surrounding her moving slightly with the gesture.

Black bangs hung loosely in her face as the girl "watched" him make his way down the hall, only stumbling once where before he would have had to use his hands to guide him down the narrow hall. The soft bang of his door as it closed rung in her ears, and Toph found herself playing back the day she had just spent with the young man.

They had talked that morning, his seemingly annoying habit of somehow getting her to open up so easily still annoying her a bit. Then she had taken him into the forest to help train him, something he likely could have done on his own. She had made no mark to herself of the time that had passed, but assumed from the chilled air that it was later in the night now.

She thought to the first few failures of the young man, comparing them to the first difficulties that Aang had experienced with his earth bending. Her lips curled as she chuckled a bit, picturing their entirely different approaches. While Aang had been hesitant, and gave up somewhat easily, Zuko had stood his ground and tried until he got it right.

"He would have made a good earth bender," she commented to herself, laughing at the thought of the Fire Prince moving rocks around as she made her way towards her own room. But as she made her way down the empty hall, her smile dipped a bit, her fingers feeling oddly cold compared to earlier.

From the beginning of the day until this end, she had spent almost the entire day with Zuko, her body almost memorizing the feel of his natural warmth. The warmth of a natural fire bender, she figured, as it was different from the warmth of any of the rest of the group. She stopped as she kicked in the door to her room, a stray thought scratching at her mind.

'_You really do like him, don't you?'_ her mind asked her, the flare of blush on her cheeks the only response to the mental question.

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**Ah, Toph is developing a crush on our favorite fire bender. Next chapter a bit of awkwardness as she comes to terms with it. Not sure how in depth the romance will go in this story, so we'll see. Anyway, as I said there will be a total of 10 chapters to this story. The next two of sort of them hanging out and gettign even closer, and an epilogue. That would probably be the longest chapter of this story, and take place after the end of the series. And what happens when Zuko gets his sight back? Until next time, good readers.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: Opening**

**Rating: K**

**Chapter 8 for your enjoyment, good readers. Meant to have this up sooner, but I get sidetracked to easily. Comics are just so addicting for me (burned through most of v4 of Nova and Annihilation: Conquest). Anyway, this one ends a bit more downcast than usual chapters, as Toph continued to deal with her new feelings for Zuko. How will things play out? Gotta read and find out.

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"Ugh, shut up you stupid brain," the raven haired girl muttered to herself, eyelids still hanging half closed as she began to stir awake. As her eyes fluttered open lazily, Toph remained glued to her bed, unfocusing eyes resting on the ceiling above her. The last thought she had had the night before had echoed around in her head during her sleep, causing a rather fitful night of sleep.

'_You really do like him, don't you?'_ Just the one, single question floated around in her mind, refusing to give her any measure of peace as she slept. It was like her own mind was working against her, teasing her with another crush so soon after the spectacularly failed ordeal with Sokka.

Flopping her forearm over her eyes as she closed them, the young girl's mind drifted, focusing on the day before. She had fallen asleep outside of Zuko's room, due to what she had convinced herself was guilt over her part in his condition. But as she thought back, she realized that she had been speaking with him so easily, sharing information she wasn't sure she would even give to the others in their group.

The way he seemed to relate to her without really trying, the way he almost seemed to read her mind and feel what she was feeling was extremely distressing, and comforting at the same time.

As she lay in her bed, she thought about the young man from the water tribe, finding herself a bit happy to lack the usual warm buzz that accompanied thoughts of the young warrior. Toph nearly chuckled at the thought, wondering to herself why she had had such a crush on the lunkhead for so long.

"I wonder what Zuko would say to that?" she asked rhetorically, finding that familiar buzz fluttering in her stomach as she said the Fire Prince's name. The simple act of saying his name brought memories of his voice, the way it seemed to hang in her ears when he talked about pretty much anything.

The blind girl thought, comparing the personalities of the two teenagers she had grown the closest to in the group's travels. Sokka was the joker, the one who brought levity to pretty much any situation and goofed off whenever the opportunity arose. He could be determined when he felt like it, but those situations seemed somewhat few and far between. He was always a good partner to play pranks, either on or with.

But Zuko seemed more fun somehow. His deathly serious attitude made prodding him for jokes much more satisfying, as he would occasionally blow up into a fit of anger and lots of shouting. And he was determined. She had learned that firsthand after the single day of training with him, as he had nearly exhausted himself for a small bit of progress in developing his new technique.

Toph wondered to herself if he was that determined in everything he did, or if it was limited to ways of improving himself. Ways to make him stronger. Shaking her head against the soft cushioning beneath her, Toph gave her cheeks a firm smack.

"Alright, enough of that," she said, swinging her legs over the edge of the comfortable bed as she brought herself into a standing position. Taking a deep breath, the girl decided that she wasn't going to think of it anymore, figuring it was just a result of spending so much time with the young man.

Straightening her messy hair as she walked, the blind earth bender made her way down the narrow corridors of the old temple. Gradually she made her way to the fire pit the group had set up for Katara to cook meals, the smell of delicious food wafting over to her and tickling her nostrils tauntingly.

"How nice of you to join us, Toph. I was thinking you might miss breakfast," Katara said in that oh so motherly way that only she among the group could manage. Toph simply rolled her eyes, taking a seat between Katara and Sokka, the rest of the mismatched group sitting opposite her.

"I bet she was just tired after yesterday. I mean, it seems like they didn't get back until pretty late," Aang said, an attempt to be cheerful and helpful apparent in his voice as it usually was at any given time.

"Really? Toph, you know it's not a good idea to be out too late, especially with someone as dangerous as Zuko," Katara said, Toph imagining the older girl wagging her finger disapprovingly in the blind girl's face.

"You know he's not dangerous Katara, so why are you really so mad at him?" Toph asked, taking the bowl she was offered from the young water bender. She could feel the rest of the group lean in just a bit closer, everyone clearly wondering what the real deal was between Zuko and Katara.

"Of course he's dangerous. You wouldn't know that, since you weren't the one being chased around by him all that time," Katara said, feeling an ever so subtle thump in her chest as she thought about it, hoping that Toph wouldn't pick up on it.

No such luck. With a near dangerous smirk, Toph decided to push things just a little bit further. "I don't know. His crazy sister seems way more dangerous, and we're not trying to hunt her down, so what's the real deal?" she asked, listening to the muttered approval from Aang and Sokka at the mention of the Fire Princess.

Murmurs of questioning hung in the air from the others in the group, those who had not encountered Zuko's sister. Aang and Sokka looked to one another, trying to somehow forget the dangers that she had put them through, grudgingly promising to fill the others in at a later date.

Toph knew she had Katara backed into a corner. From what she had heard from Zuko, the blind girl made a guess as to what had happened, but figured Katara needed to get it out of her mind so she could move on. She could feel the uneasy vibrations from the young water bender, her heart beating a good deal quicker than normal.

"Aaaah!" the group's attention was shifted away as a shout sounded from inside the temple, saving Katara from a possibly embarrassing admission of her no doubt complex feelings towards the Fire Prince. Each member of the group got to their feet, ready for a possible confrontation with whoever was foolish enough to attack them.

The looks of battle readiness faded to looks of surprise as Zuko made his way out of the temple, eyes focused on his hands. An almost eerie smile graced the young man's face as he exited into the bright Sun, his head tilting upward as the smile only widened.

"Zuko? What the hell was that all about? You scared us to death," Sokka said, exhaling his breath as he let his arms drop down to his side, the tip of his sword clanging against the carved stone at his feet.

Toph's brows knit together gently, her senses picking up a subtle change in the young man's demeanor. Not the downcast, depression of the day prior, but something else. Something much more positive. He seemed to almost be excited about something.

As though noticing the group for the first time, Zuko made his way quickly over to the blind girl, wrapping his arms enthusiastically around her slender frame. "This is great, I can see again. Really, truly see!" he shouted, picking the girl up from the ground accidentally as he embraced her.

Toph felt like her cheeks might literally burst into flame as his strong arms wrapped around her, carelessly holding her against his warm body. Her mind began to swim in her head, trying to focus on something other than the beating of his heart that seemed to hammer at her mind given their proximity.

"H-how about y-you calm down and t-tell us all about it," she managed, her voice sounding too girly for her tastes as she tapped on the young man's shoulders. Zuko's voice stopped, his eyes drifting down to the young girl he had carelessly taken into his arms, a moment of fear passing through him.

Turning his attention to the others, he noticed looks of surprise and concern, each person nearly hidden behind small rocks scattered around the small square. Fixing his gaze on the younger girl now pressed close to him, he found himself focused on the mint green spheres peering up at him.

'_Wow. Did her eyes always look so… beautiful?'_ he asked himself, as he set the girl down on the ground once more. His cheeks felt a bit warmer than usual, the sight of her foggy eyes fluttering around in his mind.

"That's better. Now, what is so damn exciting?" she asked, turning away from him as she straightened her clothes. Zuko's mind gradually shifted back into gear, eyes blinking as he watched Toph take her seat around the campfire once again. The others made their ways back to their previous positions as well, honest surprise that Zuko had not gotten any kind of punishment for seemingly embarrassing the young earth bender.

Settling into a seat between Toph and Aang, Zuko felt the uncomfortable attention of the rest of their oddball group focused on him with different intensities. Some seemed genuinely curious about what had caused him to yell out so earnestly early in the morning, and others seemed to regard it as just another event.

"So, what was with the yelling and the smiling and the whole hugging Toph thing?" Sokka asked, getting right to the point as he took a second refilling of his soup bowl. The young man tried to look serious, which failed as he continued to spoon soup into his mouth.

"Yeah, you seemed pretty excited and something about seeing. Does that mean that you're able to see again?" Aang asked, picking up on what Zuko had said where Sokka seemed entirely vacant.

Toph felt a slight tightness grip her chest as she imagined the young man being able to see again, her mind filling itself with curious questions and feelings. Somehow she found that it felt a bit lonely to imagine that Zuko could see again. She felt as though she should be glad about it, but somehow just wasn't.

"Yeah. I just woke up, and I could see everything. At first I thought I was just dreaming, but once I realized I was awake, I thought it was just an effect of my training. But then I realized I could see all the colors and stuff, so I realized it was real," he said, his voice filled with an excited sense of relief.

"That's great. Now you can resume my fire bending training," Aang said excitedly, Zuko nodding in agreement.

"How nice that you are all healed. I'd have hated if Aang would have had to find a new teacher after that whole thing with the Masters," Katara said, handing Zuko a bowl of the thin soup as she spoke.

"Yeah, that would have been really bad. But I'm glad it was temporary," he said, finding his golden eyes drifting over to the girl at his right, his brows knitting together in mild concern at the downcast look on the girl's face.

"I think this calls for a party," Sokka said, his face nearly glowing like the Sun over head at the prospect of any kind of celebration. Aang added his agreement before Katara smacked Sokka over the head.

"You think everything is a reason to party," she said, taking the boy's bowl from him in a mild huff. Sokka grumbled his displeasure with his sister, rubbing the slightly sore spot on the back of his head as he walked off.

"Well, I'm glad you're all better, Sparky," Toph said, forcing a smile to her face as she handed Katara her bowl before heading off in the opposite direction of the young water tribe warrior. Zuko turned his head, watching as she stalked off away from the group, lacking any of her usual cockiness or energy.

"What's wrong with her?" Katara asked, sitting down with her own serving of soup as the others finished theirs. Aang shrugged his shoulders before downing his own helping of the mixture. As Toph rounded a distant corner, Zuko turned his attention to the bowl in his hands, quickly finishing the helping before heading off after the younger girl.

The others watched as he followed her, seemingly attempting to somehow avoid cluing her into the fact that he was following. Their eyes shifted to one another before shrugging, figuring it was something between the two of them.

Following after the younger girl, Zuko wondered what had gotten into her. She seemed alright until Aang had suggested that Zuko had regained his sight. But that couldn't be enough to bother the girl, could it?

After a minute of walking, the young man spotted the girl leaning against a stray piece of railing, the end broken off and rough. The girl's elbows rested against the firm edge of the carved stone, her raven hair blowing gently in the mountain breeze that blew regularly around the temple.

"You must be pretty bothered to be looking at the sky when you can't even see," he joked, taking a position to the girl's right. Her body tensed a bit, as though she had not sensed him coming and was surprised to hear him speak. "And it must be really bad if you didn't even sense me coming," he added, smiling a bit as the mumbling coming from the girl.

"Don't talk like you know everything, nothing is wrong," she said, turning her attention away from the young man, again letting her sightless gaze rest on the vast expanse of sky ahead of her.

"I may not be able to determine when people are lying like you, but growing up around Azula you pick up a few things about lying," he said, nudging the girl's arm playfully as he joined her in watching the sky. Zuko watched as a patch of clouds floated lazily across the sky, stretching and contorting as they were blown by the winds in the air.

"Ugh, don't remind me of your sister. One of these days I'm gonna make sure she regrets messing with me," Toph said, lips pressing together as she remembered how sarcastic and confident the girl had been even without her bending.

"Not before I do, you don't. There's a long line for that, and I think you're near the back of it," he said, no humor in his joke as he thought over the time he and his sister had spent together, and how twisted and cruel she had always been.

"Must have been tough, growing up in your family," the raven haired girl suggested, black strands hanging loosely in her face as was her usual style. Zuko let her words sink in, smirking at the understatement she had let pass through her lips.

"You have no idea. But you can't get out of this that easily," he said, smirking as the girl clicked her tongue, hoping that he would become absorbed in talking about his own past instead of what was bothering her.

"You're so pushy, you know? I told you there's nothing wrong," she said, letting her sightless gaze drift downward, towards what she was told was an opposing cliff face a good distance away.

"And I feel a little obligated to help you out, even if it's only by listening, for what you did for me yesterday," he said, placing his hand on the girl's small shoulder. He felt her body seemingly slump under the extra weight, before shrugging it off.

"You wouldn't understand," she muttered, just loud enough that Zuko was able to hear it.

"Of course I wouldn't, because you're not telling me anything," he said, wondering what the younger girl was getting at. Placing his hand against the hard railing against which he was resting, he watched the girl out of the corner of his eye, wondering what was going on in her head.

"Ugh, why don't you just mind your own business," she said roughly, hoping that he would pick up on her reluctance to talk about it and then leave her alone. The way he seemed to lean further against the railing indicated that he wasn't going anywhere, and the girl found herself groaning at her own helplessness in these situations.

"I don't think friends just leave their friends to suffer over weird stuff on their own. You don't have to talk to me about it, but you should talk to someone," he said, his tone offering a bit more than he might have originally intended.

"Speaking from experience again?" she asked, smiling gently as he nodded his head, knowing that he was talking about his confidant, his best friend, his uncle Iroh. The younger girl thought back to her few meetings with the older gentleman, figuring it must have been way too easy to rely on him if one were to travel with him regularly.

"Let's just say it's better to have someone who cares than to not," he said, knowing that Toph was aware of what he was getting at. A moment of silence covered the conversation, passing over both as they stared blankly out at the sky.

"It's almost unfair, you know?" Toph offered after a minute, figuring she may as well get it off of her chest. Taking in a deep breath, the young girl let her sightless mint green eyes wander towards the direction of Zuko's heartbeats.

"I guess, I was enjoying the time we were spending together, and I thought that since you can see now, then you wouldn't have any reason to keep doing it," she said, cursing at herself for sounding so weak as the words seemed to drip from her rosy pink lips, each one another nail in the coffin of the tough, independent Toph.

Another bout of silence passed between them, Toph figuring that she must have put herself out there too far, making a fool of herself. Zuko was letting the information sink in, trying to put a reasonable explanation to the girl's statement.

"You know, when I first joined the group, I really had no opinion of you at all," he said honestly, fingers grabbing at his elbows as he continued to stare out at the impossibly vast expanse of blue all around him. "And then I thought you were this cocky, arrogant, impossible little kid, acting more grown up than she was," he continued, digging himself further into the hole he knew was being formed.

Toph listened, trying to keep her patience about her. She sensed a 'but' coming along, and really didn't want to do something stupid before he got a chance to reach the point of his little speech. Knuckled cracked as she gripped the railing harder, letting his words sink into her mind as he spoke.

"Then I thought you were just this little bundle of mischief, causing problems just to amuse yourself, no matter who gets caught in it," he said, again reminded of the way Azula would play with her "friends".

"Get to the point, unless you want some broken bones," Toph said, not enjoying listening to someone talk down to her so directly. Zuko smirked a bit, sensing her frustration with him as he continued to ramble on.

"The point, I guess, is that you're a good person. You hide the nice part of you under a thick layer of roughness, and you don't let it show enough. I get what that's like, really, but you can't be afraid," he said, turning his attention to her once again.

"So you think I should be all girly and sweet like Katara?" Toph asked, a gag tugging just beneath the words. Zuko chuckled a bit, imagining what it might look like for Toph to act impossibly positive like Katara.

"Perish the thought. I don't think the world could take two Kataras," he said, earning a light laugh from the girl. "All I'm saying is, be yourself, and don't think you have to always be the crude, rough little earth bender," he said, trying his best to fabricate some semblance of the wisdom his uncle might impart to the girl.

"I guess you're right. But I have a reputation to uphold, you know?" she suggested, earning a rolling of the eyes from Zuko.

"I'm aware. But I don't think anyone would respect you less if you are more honest with your feelings," he said, placing his hand on the girl's shoulder as he turned to leave. Toph listened to his footsteps as he walked, each one bringing a new heaviness to her chest. Once he was out of earshot, the girl leaned more heavily on the railing, releasing a heavy burst of breath.

"But what if what I want isn't possible…?" she asked the air, her voice tinted with sadness as her mind played back the pleasant sound of his soothing voice.

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**As I said, I love reading comics, so sometimes I get sidetracked from writing. But there are only two more chapters left in this story. I feel bad for Toph with the end of this chapter, but I promise it will all work itself out in the end. Just gotta have faith. Next time we get Zuko's side of things, and his own conflicted feelings for our favorite earth bender. Until next time, faithful readers.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Second Kind of Sight: Chapter 9**

***gasp* A release of a chapter by yours truly? I know, it's been forever since I posted a chapter of anything, but here is the second to last chapter of this story. No real apology for why this took so long, but I will try and get the last chapter really soon for your enjoyment. Thanks to those of you who have waited so patiently for this. Without further ado, here is some more Zuko x Toph fluff.

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Casting a look over his right shoulder, Zuko felt a harsh thud drop against his chest, his heart's beats slowing to a crawl at the sight of the young girl. He felt truly bad, wishing that his uncle were around to give the girl the advice she was clearly in need of. The scarred teen know that he was not what people would call good with empathy or giving advice of any kind.

He had, after all, spent most of his teenage years brooding and exploding into fiery rage at even the smallest hints of trouble during his banishment. Turning his head slowly away from the young girl, he headed off towards the encampment where the rest of the Avatar's group were no doubt engaged in some kind of idiocy. Zuko figured it would do him some good to focus on fire bending, to try and whip Aang into a real fire bender.

But as he made his way towards the fire pit, the sounds of laughter grating almost painfully on his ears, Zuko found his thoughts still centering themselves on the blind earth bender. He had not known what to say to the girl, opting to let the words just sort of fall out of his mouth as naturally as he could. It was what his uncle seemed to do, but then his uncle was far more experienced in dealing with other people.

Each syllable that had come from his lips as he spoke to the girl had not been really well thought out, and he was surprised she hadn't pummeled him as they came out. From what he had gathered, Toph was certainly not the most patient member of their group. So he figured that she must have really been down to just let him speak his peace.

He just had to hope that his words would get her to take control of whatever was bothering her, as she clearly had no trouble with to that point. And seeing the way she acted with the other members of their little band, he had a feeling that her problems had to do with a certain warrior boy. The thought made him chuckle just a bit, his lips curling ever so slightly at the corners at the thought.

Sokka was clearly focused on other things, and so paid little attention to the subtle changes in Toph's attitude when he was around. Zuko wondered idly if Katara and Aang had picked up on the girl's affections for the sometimes clueless Water Tribe boy. Then again, Zuko wondered if he would have noticed if not for the little accident only a couple of days prior.

The memory of the bright flushes of her cheeks flashed through his mind, widening his smile just a bit. But just as the memory made him smile, a strange sort of coldness settled along with the heavy thud in his chest. Idly reaching up, the scarred young man placed his right hand against his chest, smile dropping as he tried to put words to what he was feeling.

It was similar to how he had felt when he found out about his banishment, but not quite as strong. So too was it similar to how he had felt during that night in Ba Sing Se with the peasant girl Jin, but a bit stronger than that. Stopping in his tracks, he tilted his head so that he was staring up at the wide blue sky, his mind racing to come up with some kind of explanation.

Was it sadness? It felt like it, but what was he sad about? _'You can't be serious?'_ his own mind seemed to almost taunt him, a hint of tense anger flooding to his limbs. Was he just sad because Toph was sad? She was, after all, his closest friend among the Avatar's group, for what that statement might be worth.

'_She has always been there for you to this point,'_ the voice in his head responded, seemingly affirming his thought. He thought for a moment about going back, to try a little harder to cheer the black haired girl up. But he realized that he would look really silly if he walked back up to her without a real reason to be there.

He knew that friends could just hang out without a good reason, but somehow that just didn't seem adequate at that moment. A low growl sounded in his throat as he thought for a moment longer on what he could do. _'God, why does it matter so much?'_ his mind asked him, as though it were irritated with dealing with the usually angst, moody teenager.

Zuko realized he had no real answer to that question. Why DID it matter to him so much if Toph was feeling upset. Katara had been doing her best to make him uncomfortable in the group, but he was willing to just basically pass her feelings off as something unalterable and move on.

But he really didn't want to see Toph, the one person who had voiced their approval for joining their group from the beginning, feeling so unlike herself. He felt the smile return as he thought of her smiling face, usually signaling some kind of trouble for everyone around her, especially him. Sounds of her quite unladylike laughter filled his head, along with a warm fuzzy feeling where before that cold thudding had resided.

It was something that was truly unfamiliar to the young Fire Nation royal. Not something he had experienced since his mother had disappeared so many years earlier. He realized that he liked being around the obnoxious little earth bender. He liked the way that she could just sort of tell what was wrong through people's vibrations, liked the way he couldn't keep anything from her if she decided she wanted to know.

And he liked her upbeat attitude. She was always confident, and positive about things, but not in the obnoxious way that Aang seemed to show at all times. He wondered if the kid even knew how to tone it down. Zuko figured that he was just feeling care for a friend, and that Toph of all people would figure it out.

As he began walking again towards the campfire, a little thought continued nagging in the back of his head, picking at the resolution he had settled on. It was as though his mind was trying to tell him that there was more to his thoughts than that, that maybe he was not just seeing Toph as his friend.

The young man's amber eyes widened a bit, before he tried to shake the thought from his head. There was no way he was interested in Toph like that, or that she was interested in him for that matter. She liked Sokka, that much was obvious. The thought sent another rush of coolness through his limbs, his fingers turning a bit numb at the thought.

Somehow, even though he knew he didn't like Toph that way, the thought of her and Sokka together bothered him. More than he figure it should. He again pushed the unpleasant thought from his head, trying to convince himself that he was just a bit confused from the sudden interaction with other people outside of necessity.

Closing his eyes, he thought of Mai, the girl he knew he liked, but had left behind when he had decided to help the Avatar. But as he tried to imagine the shimmering strands of black hair and golden eyes that seemed to shimmer with all her held back emotions, he could only picture the black hair pulled into a trademark bun. Black bangs hung in front of frosted green eyes, the mint color looking so inviting as they sparkled with mirth.

Amber eyes flashed open at the image that greeted him, his heart racing as he tried to seek some shelter in a good explanation. It was probably just an effect of spending so much time around her the day before. Yeah, that had to be it. Looking ahead, Zuko sighed in relief at the sight of the young air bender, nearly breaking into a run towards the younger boy.

"Oh, hey Zuko, how's T-" before Aang could inquire about the young earth bender, he was interrupted by Zuko grabbing the back of the boy's tunic as he walked past, dragging the boy behind him like a little puppy.

"We're behind on your fire bending, so I hope you're ready to work your butt off," Zuko cautioned, silently cursing the little catch in his voice as he spoke. He vaguely overheard the light whimpering of the young air bender, his body going limp in the young royal's grasp. Zuko was glad that he could practice fire bending when he desired, with no fear of reprisal or of being hunted by local villagers.

Reaching the designated area for their fire bending practice, Zuko instructed Aang to do the preparatory exercises he had been taught. Namely, this included breathing and a short stint of meditation, something that Zuko usually enjoyed. It offered him a chance to gain some measure of peace in his usually out of control life.

But this time the usually reliable method of relaxation only seemed to make things worse, his mind tripping back to thoughts of the troublesome earth bender. He could feel his body tensing with each passing second. He was just glad Toph wasn't around to pick up on it, or he would have to endure endless questioning.

"Umm, Zuko, isn't the point of meditating to calm yourself down, not get more agitated?" Aang's chipper voice pierced the brewing storm, causing him to open his eyes in surprise. Clearing his throat a bit, he turned towards the young air bender.

"Y-yes, it is. Of course I'm relaxed, what do you mean I'm not?" he asked, realizing himself how stupid he was sounding. He watched Aang's stone grey eyes fog over a bit, seemingly trying to figure a way to ask what was bothering Zuko without earning a fiery fit of rage.

"W-well, it's just that your body seems tense, more than usual," he said, backing away slightly from the young fire bender. Zuko nearly groaned to himself, borrowing a move from Sokka as he smacked himself on the forehead. It had slipped his mind entirely that Aang had the possibility of sensing vibrations just like Toph. With the amount of tension he could feel in his body, Zuko figured his vibrations must have been like an earthquake.

"It's nothing. Now, I'm going to teach you a few more simple fire bending moves, so I hope you're ready," he said, changing the subject as quickly as he could manage. Aang's body straightened up, either ignoring or losing track of Zuko's vibrations with the prospect of new fire bending moves to practice.

As the two practiced Zuko's native element, the scarred teen managed to shift his mind from the young earth bender to the matter at hand. After an hour and a half of intense work, the pair took their stances, bowing in respect to one another. Zuko smirked as Aang nearly collapsed onto his back, arms stretched out to either side as he lay against the warmed stone of the small clearing.

The scarred teen took that as a cue to leave, hoping he would have an opportunity to bathe in order to clear his skin of the layer of sweat that had accumulated during their workout. Slowly his breathing came back to normal, the soft intake and exhalation of breath a comfort to him in its simple rhythm.

Panting gasps smoothed out into the steady flow of air in and out of his body, each breath bringing with it a sense of relief and comfort as his heart's beating began to slow to normal functional speed as well. Pushing open the door to gain entrance to the interior of the temple, Zuko stopped as he felt a familiar presence, a faint glimmer of heat stinging pleasantly at the back of his head.

Turning his head, he watched as the young earth bender turned the corner, heading directly towards him. Her head was tilted downward, black bangs hanging loosely beneath her face as she approached him. Zuko found an uncomfortable lump nestled against his throat as he stood there, the sweat clinging uncomfortably on his skin as Toph settled in front of him.

A moment of uncomfortable silence passed between them, and Zuko had a feeling that Toph wanted to say something. But for whatever reason, she was having trouble with whatever it was, something that was very unlike the Toph he had gotten to know during his admittedly brief time in the Avatar's group.

"Uh, Toph, I-" he tried to encourage the girl, finding his mouth partially clamped shut as the girl's slender fingers held against his mouth. He fought not to laugh as more of her palm was on his chin than his mouth, and smiled as the girl's cheeks bloomed into a light tint of pink blush.

"Look, don't say anything Sparky. This is hard enough as it is," she said, pulling her hand away from the young man's face. She silently cursed the gesture, lament at not being able to accurately place her hand against the scarred teen's mouth to get him to shut up and let her say her peace.

The Fire Nation royal nodded his head almost hesitantly, wondering what was so important and so difficult for her to say. Taking a step back, he watched the girl remain rooted in place, her feet rubbing against the bare stone of the area just inside the door to the temple. If he was just observing her for the first time, he would never guess that she was possibly the most powerful earth bender in the world. Or one of the most powerful of any element period.

She looked like just another girl, but there was definitely something in the way she was acting. It was familiar, but he just couldn't place the memory. Then it hit him. She was acting a little like that peasant girl in Ba Sing Se. Like a girl with a crush. He opened his mouth to say something, but no words escaped his lips.

His eyes widened as much as they were able as he felt a soft, warm pressure against his lips, inviting and yet scary with its comfort. Shifting his eyes downward, he noticed the blind girl leaning up towards him, standing nearly on her toes to place her lips against his. Zuko's mind stopped for a moment, unsure of what he was supposed to do.

The feelings welling up inside of him were so complicated, that he could scarcely sift through them. He knew in his mind that it was not right, that she was too young to be doing things like this, was not ready for such adult actions. But he found his heart interjecting, reminding him that the times in which they had all been raised were anything but normal.

Without his control, Zuko found his body reacting on its own. His lips leaned against the velvety smooth wetness of hers, his arm finding its perch around her waist. He saw the girl's eyes flash open with surprise, the minty green fogged with an emotion he couldn't quite put into words. But he could tell that she was enjoying it, as much as he knew he was.

Just as suddenly as it had started, it was over, as the young earth bender pulled quickly away from him, leaving his arm to fall uselessly at his side. His eyes blinked a few times, his mind slowly returning to normal function. Looking at the girl in front of him, she seemed so small, so fragile. Like the porcelain doll she claimed she never wanted to be.

"Toph… I…" he tried to speak, eliciting a shake of the head from the young girl, another signal that he should just shut his mouth. A lifetime of his mouth getting him into trouble had given him an almost pathological urge to speak, but he held his tongue as the raven haired girl began to speak.

"Look, I don't know what happened, or why, but I used to like Sokka. But after spending that day with you yesterday, I realized that I like you, so that's why I did what I did," she spoke as quickly as possible, each word clearly a pain to vocalize to the person she was speaking with. Zuko's body turned light, not knowing what to do.

As the silence dragged on again, Zuko could sense Toph's discomfort and frustration. She had taken the initiative, and listened to his words as he had spoken them earlier that day. He had not expected himself to be the object of her frustration or her romantic interest. This day was turning out so different from what he had expected.

Looking at the blind girl, he took a deep breath, taking the momentary break to gather his thoughts a bit. He really wished he had more experience in dealing with matters like this, and wished especially that his uncle was there to tell him what to say. He knew that if he didn't handle this well, things could be very bad for him among the rest of the group.

"Toph, I… like you, too," he said, finding himself smiling a bit as the girl's blush darkened a bit, the shade of pinkish red fitting the moment nicely. But he knew if he ever mentioned it to anyone, he'd be in immense trouble. Not that he was the type to prey on supposed weakness like that. "But, I need a little time to think things through, alright?" he asked, a twinge of pain pinching his heart as her smile fell.

"Oh, yeah, that's fine," she said, sadness evident with the few words she spoke. Zuko felt he had to do something, or things were going to get worse. Reaching out, he grabbed the girl's shoulder, pulling so that she was facing him once again. Figuring her own action might work as a temporary fix, he leaned down, catching her rosy pink lips with his own. The girl's body nearly went limp as he pressed his lips against hers, her hands reaching around his body to grasp his tunic.

An intense moment passed, and Zuko pulled away from the young girl. "I didn't mean it like that, Toph. It's just really sudden, and it's a little confusing for me too, so I just want to settle my thoughts, alright?" he said, channeling his uncle as the words flowed from his mouth. For a moment, Toph didn't say anything, and Zuko subconsciously prepared for a pummeling.

But as he looked at the girl's face, he noticed a surprisingly dreamy look on the girl's face. A smirk played across his lips as he hoisted the girl onto his back, figuring he might as well get her to a comfortable place before she fell on her face.

"An interesting day, indeed," he murmured to himself, his hands resting carefully on the girl's thighs as he felt her lean further against his back.

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**God, this chapter was so hard to write. I must have rewritten this chapter (especially the beginning) like a hundred times. It just never felt right, and even this version feels a bit weird. Like it just kind of rambles towards the beginning. I will trust you all to leave comments if it is awful, and as I said, hopefully I can get the last chapter of this story uploaded soon. Until next time good readers.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

**Rating: T**

**Ah, finally we reach the end of this little story. I am thinking of doing a oneshot epilogue kind of story to this, but I think it's pretty much done with this chapter. Last time I was worried about rambling and stuff, but this time I think I took them a little OOC, so let me know if that is the case. That said, enjoy the final chapter of Second Kind of Sight.

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**

Shifting his body, Zuko placed the sleeping girl as carefully onto his bed. In his usual brilliant planning, it hadn't occurred to him when he had placed the girl on his back that he had no idea where the rest of the group's rooms were located among the seemingly endless number of rooms in the air temple. Taking a step back, he watched the girl's brows furrow a bit, as though some concern crossed her unconscious mind.

Panic set in for a moment, Zuko lacking in experience with comforting people normally, much less those who were already asleep. The panic passed as the girl's face relaxed, a small smile gracing her soft features as she slept. The scarred teen offered a small curse under his breath, not enjoying being so worried for another person, especially if it was something seemingly minor like that.

Standing upright, the young man watched the girl sleep, he chest gently rising and falling with each breath. Peace and tranquility, two words he would never have associated with this girl even two days earlier, seemed to fill the room. "I guess anyone can look peaceful when they're sleeping," he mused to himself, suddenly feeling an unexplainable sense of dread at the curiosity over his own sleeping form.

He wondered what one would say to see him asleep. He wondered whether he looked peaceful and calm like Toph, or if his many nightmares affected the look of his face as he slept. All at once, he recalled the vivid memories that haunted his sleep. The dueling dragons, each representing the two most influential people in his life, whispering opposing words in the ears of a young Fire Lord. A boy scarred and broken at the hands of his own father, a figure standing tall and menacing in a world of shadows.

Opening his eyes, the young royal tried to push the memories from his mind, wishing he could somehow disconnect himself from the troubled past. And as his amber eyes drifted to the sleeping girl once more, the cold bitterness washed away. His mind filled with more pleasant thoughts, particularly the fiery kiss they had shared seemingly an eternity earlier.

Taking a step forward, Zuko dropped to one knee, his left hand reaching out carefully towards the smooth skin of the girl's face. He traced a soft line from her chin along her jaw. He traced the area on her face where his own scar resided, a bitter sort of chuckle escaping his lips.

"You're really lucky, you know?" he asked, brushing a few strands of ebony locks from the girl's sleeping face. His laugh grew more lighthearted as the girl shuddered a bit under his gentle touch, lips curled into a warm, contented smile like that of a mischievously satiated housecat.

Zuko let his fingers linger on the girl's porcelain skin for a moment longer before standing upright once again, turning to leave the room. As he reached the door, he cast another look over his shoulder, silently wishing the girl pleasant dreams. The door's soft clicking was the last sound he heard from within the room, his mind finding a moment of peace as he headed off toward the designated bathing area.

The soft padding of his feet on the cold stone floor served as an uncomfortable companion as he approached the large bath, each step another reminder of where he was. A reminder of what his people had done only a hundred years earlier. Visions of a senseless slaughter filled his mind, the guilt bubbling up in him all over again.

He wondered how Aang, the sole survivor of his people, could possible forgive him, how he could look at him with anything but complete hatred and fear. The looks that Katara gave him were the ones he had grown used to. Looks of mistrust, of fear and complete loathing on a deeply personal level. As though he himself were the human embodiment of all the crimes of his people.

Not that he could blame her, really. He had a suspicion that if they were in reversed situations then he would see her in much the same way, as much as he wished that would not be the case. Opening the heavy wooden door to the bath area, Zuko tried to push the feelings of guilt away, knowing that Toph would probably lecture him as his uncle would if she knew he was moping around.

Closing the door behind him, he began to strip the layers of suddenly uncomfortable clothing, acutely aware of how they had continued to stick to his skin. Setting the fine garments into a nearby stone basin, he made his way towards the pool in the center of the large room.

Dipping his toes into the water, Zuko immediately pulled them out, the coldness biting uncomfortable at the sensitive tips of his toes. Taking a standard breath for fire bending, he leaned down, dipping his hands into the wide expanse of water. Before long, the water had warmed up considerably, white wisps of steam rising from the flat surface of water. A comfortable smile graced his face as he dipped into the heated water, any tension in his body melting away with the steam.

Making his way towards the opposing end of the pool, he dropped his head beneath the surface, letting the soothing substance soak into each strand of his hair. Rising out of the water, he let the clear liquid drip from the tips of his hair back into the large expanse. Leaning against the far wall, Zuko let his body relax as much as he was able, savoring the moment of peace in his usually hectic life.

Golden eyes closed in relaxed bliss, blocking out the traces of light that drifted in through the high windows at the top of the walls. His mind began to calm, all the turbulent thoughts drifting away as though being cleansed by the water itself. Soon his mind began to grow fuzzy, sleep pulling harshly against his eyelids. His mind told him that if he was going to go to sleep, he should at least get out of the water.

But another part of him said that it would be fine, that he wasn't the type to clumsily fall into the water and drown if he were to doze off. It would be understandable, after all, given the relaxing properties of a nice hot bath. Then thoughts of his skin pruned and wrinkled crossed his mind, and the sleepy portion of his mind lost out. Brightly lit eyes opened, and he wondered how much time had passed since he had begun to drift off. Sleep had a way of speeding up the passage of time, even if not a deep, true sleep.

Looking up, he noticed the bright rays of sunlight sifting through the opened windows, brightness matching the middle portions of the day.

Taking a look at his hands, he watched as the water flowed off of his fingers, joining the pool surrounding him. His calloused fingers had pruned a bit, small grooves of wrinkled skin showing prominently on the soft pads of skin. Sighing a bit in relaxed enjoyment, he made his way towards the mouth of the large pool of water, listening to the odd splashes of water as he passed through the clear liquid.

As he exited the large pool, he cursed himself for not bringing a towel along, the water dripping carelessly off of his body as he stood on the large expanse of carved stone that joined the corridors to the room. Taking a deep breath, the scarred royal tapped into the energy within his body, calling forth an aspect of his element.

Heating the air immediately around him, he felt the water begin to vaporize back into the air, once more transforming into its most basic elements. Times like these he realized he was glad to be a fire bender, enjoying the ability to manipulate things as fundamental as the heat of objects. Not something that could be useful in a militarty application for the most part, but definitely convenient for every day life.

Once he was sufficiently dry, only a small amount of moisture clinging to his hair, another realization struck him, one that was possibly more inconvenient than forgetting his towel. He had forgotten to gather the change of clothes he would need after the bath. The idea of putting on the dirty, sweaty finery didn't sit well with him, and he thanked himself that at least he had kept on his snug fitting under garment.

"At least I won't have to walk around naked," he commented, embarrassed at the mere mention of such a possibility. Sighing in frustration, Zuko made his way towards the door, ruffling his hair to loosen the remainder of the moisture from the black strands. The warm flush from the bath left his skin as he made his way through the chilly corridors, small goose pimples lining his skin as he walked.

He suddenly wished that he was back in the Fire Nation, where it seemed to be summer all the year around. Stopping in front of his door, he looked at the worn and somewhat battered brown wood that barred casual entrance to the room. Turning his head slightly, he smiled as he recalled bumping into the young earth bender the day before, as she had fallen asleep outside of his door.

Letting a light chuckle escape his lips, Zuko grabbed the handle to the door, forgetting that he had let the blind girl rest in his bed after her impassioned expression of her feelings. The slightly warmer feel of his room soothed him after the chilly interior of the temple, and he made his way towards the small makeshift dresser where he stored his few belongings.

Opening the small compartment, he pulled out his spare change of clothes, similar in style to his other outfit but with a hint of black where the other was crimson. Setting the garments on the top of the piece of furniture, Zuko put his right foot through the appropriate leg of the fine pants. As he pulled the garment tightly around his waist, he didn't notice the stirrings of the girl who had been sleeping peacefully in his bed.

While Zuko was pulling the pants tightly around his waist, Toph sat upright, a warm fuzzy feeling emanating from deep within her body. A mysterious smile crossed her lips, making her cheeks feel a bit sore as she smiled wider. She wondered if what she had experienced had really happened, or if it was just some teasing dream.

Sightless eyes widened as she realized she was not in her own sleeping area, her hands sinking into the surprisingly soft bedding beneath her. Her heart began to race as she thought about the situation, wondering where she had ended up. Turning to the right, she dropped her feet to the floor, cheeks warming as she "saw" the person she had on her mind on the far side of the room.

"Zuko!? What am I doing here?" she asked, a blurred image of him pulling something over his legs, what must have been a shirt held loosely in his hand. She could tell that he was surprised, as his vibrations shifted, showing his tension. Toph watched as his heart's beats slowly settled to normal before he turned towards her.

"God, don't scare me like that. You fell asleep, and I figured it wouldn't be good if you fell asleep on the floor again, so I was going to take you to your room. But I didn't know which one was yours, so I figured my room would be alright since you were just taking a nap," he explained, taking a seat next to the young girl on his bed.

"Ah. But, why did I fall asleep?" she asked, the sleepiness lifting from her mind as she tried to put the pieces in place. A deep hidden, shy part of herself had a feeling she knew what had happened, and was somehow hoping that was just a dream. Zuko looked directly at the girl, shirt draped over his lap as he wondered how much she really recalled.

"Well, I was on my way back from fire bending practice with Aang to get cleaned up, when you made a pretty nice little declaration then you kissed me," he explained as ordinarily as he could, his good eyebrow quirking up a bit as the girl's face lit up like the reddest of flames he had ever seen.

"Y-you mean, that wasn't just a dream?" she asked, turning her blind gaze to the ground, her body feeling like a living, breathing ball of flame. Her usually comfortable clothing felt like it was constricting her, fanning the internal flames that seemed as though they would burn her where she sat.

"So, you dream about stuff like that a lot?" he asked, teasing the girl a bit as she had been known to do on many occasions. His lips curled into something mimicking a smirk as the girl placed her head in her hands, grumbling a bit about keeping her mouth shut. Figuring he shouldn't play around with her too much, lest he get a severe beating later, he decided to explain more clearly.

"Yeah, we kissed. You kissed me, then I said I needed to think about it a bit, but then I kissed you and you fell unconscious," he said, pulling his right knee up towards his chest as he moved against wall positioned next to the bed.

"You must think you're pretty good at kissing if you say I fell unconscious after you kissed me," she said, her lips tingling a bit with the memory of it. He really was good at it, but she sure as hell wasn't going to tell him that.

"I didn't say that. I'm just telling you what happened," he said, a serious look on his face. He wondered idly if the girl could still tell his vibrations and heartbeats in this position, with him no longer in contact with her comfortable element.

A moment of somewhat awkward silence passed between them as Toph let the information sink in, her embarrassment fading as she accepted the facts. "So, where do we go from here?" she asked honestly, almost as lacking in experience when it came to these matters as Zuko himself. He watched as the girl looked up at him, his amber eyes locking on those minty green spheres.

"I don't know. I don't exactly have a lot of experience with girls," he said, shrugging his shoulders in some hesitance. He still felt strange about the idea of it all, wondering what the rest of their little group would say.

"Well, I hope you don't expect me to be all sweet and clingy and girly like Katara," Toph said, leaning against the wall next to Zuko, her lips setting in a small frown as she pictured herself all dolled up and worried about stuff like that like Katara had a tendency to do.

"I already said we couldn't take having two Kataras," he said jokingly, smiling as the girl's frown lightened a bit. "I think we'll just see how things go, and try not to get on each other's nerves," he responded, stretching his arms out in front of him.

"So, does that mean I can't play pranks on you anymore?" Toph asked, her usual mischievous smile on her face as the words rolled off of her tongue. Zuko took a moment, as though he were really thinking about the possibility.

"Well, I can't say that I would dislike it if I wasn't the target of all the pranks from here on out," he said, a second idea popping into his head. "But, I think we would make good partners," he added, his smirk widening along with Toph's as the idea sunk in. The two shared a laugh, and Zuko could tell that the little troublemaker was already planning something to do to the rest of the group.

"I think you'll have to learn before you can really be my partner in pranks," Toph spoke, putting on a bit of the rough loner mask that had become such a part of her personality during her time with her parents. "But, I guess it won't be that bad giving you some pointers when it comes to joking around," she said, her eyes lazily drifting down towards the bed in front of her as she gave Zuko a punch on the arm.

"I'm so honored," he said sarcastically, rubbing the sore spot on his arm as he rolled his eyes. He wondered if Toph was managing to hit the same spot every time, as he still felt a slight tinge of pain from an earlier show of her affection. The pair of benders slipped into a comfortable silence, Toph mindlessly finding herself leaning against the bare skin of the Fire Prince's toned body.

"You know Sparky, you're pretty solidly built," she said, breaking the silence as she leaned more heavily on the young man. Judging from what she could make out, he was definitely more defined in terms of his body than Sokka, something she knew would make him pretty jealous and angry.

"You pretty much have to be in my family," he said, a tone of bitterness in his voice as he thought back to all the training he had endured from a young age, sometimes as a sort of duty and others to fill his need to gain his father's affection. Sensing that Zuko was about to go into a fit of mopey angst, Toph draped an arm over the young man's stomach, her left cheek pressed against the young man's heart.

"Yeah, yeah, your home life sucked. We get it," she said in her usual snarkey tone, taking a single deep breath as she felt his natural warmth fill her body. She found that it was actually pretty nice to just sit in such a simple state, lost in the pleasant feelings of being around the sometimes uneasy young man.

"Sorry. It's just that it's been on my mind for so long, it's hard to stop thinking about it," he said, running his fingers through the girl's jet black hair. Part of him jabbed at his heart, telling him that he was being sappy and weak, and that he should just stop. But he was really enjoying the simple enjoyment that this moment offered. After a moment, the girl shifted in her position, looking blankly up towards the young Prince.

He once again found himself lost in the unique appearance of her sparkling green eyes. The sightless gaze seemed to still display all her emotions, and he soon found himself leaning in towards her again.

"Zuko, lunch is rea-" Katara's harsh voice pierced the tranquil moment, filling the comfortable room with an unmistakable awkwardness. The two turned towards her, then back to one another before looking at Zuko's bared chest. That teasing part of Zuko's mind jabbed again, laughing heartily at his predicament.

"Katara, this isn't-" he tried to explain but was cut off as he swore he heard a loud exploding sound coming from the young water bender.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING TO TOPH!?" she shouted with the indignant anger that Zuko figured only Katara was capable. With the volume of her voice, he figured that the whole world must have heard her, and his head rang a bit as the sound echoed in his ears.

Before too long the others had burst into the room, ready with their defensive stances. Aang and Sokka stared wide-eyed at the pair, seemingly coming to the same conclusion that Katara had upon seeing them in such a state. Zuko looked down at Toph again, who had not moved from her spot. Contrary to the pounding of his own heart at the prospect of his imminent demise, the blind earth bender seemed to be rather calm.

"How can you be so calm about this?" he whispered, the girl twitching just a bit as his breath unintentionally tickled her ear a bit. Shifting his gaze a bit, he watched Aang and Sokka exchange looks of surprise, their mouths very nearly brushing against the neatly carved stone floor at their feet.

"Well, at least we don't have to worry about telling them now," Toph said, smiling wide as she felt his uneasy vibrations. Zuko groaned to himself as the words hit his ears, and he wondered what he had gotten himself into.

* * *

**Ah, Zuko sure will be having his hands full from this point. So, what did you all think of this story? This marks the end of my first attempt at writing a Toko fic, and it will be a while before I do another exclusively Toko story. The rest of this month I am planning to devote to finishing my Jinko story and starting two other stories: a story focusing on a beach party/anniversary for the end of the war (which will feature Jinko and Aang x Onji), and the Zuko x harem story (that one will just be totally fun and hardly any seriousness, but not too smutty). Also, at the beginning of November I will be taking part in Ty Luko week (see TyLuko04Ever at Deviant Art for more details) in preparation to start the sequel to Zuko's Vacation. Thank you all for reading this story to the end, and thank you much to all those of you who took the time to review. Please let me know once again if I kept things at least close to in character. Until next time, good readers.**


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